Today Jezebel, the iconic women’s site under G/O Media, announced a series of new editorial and video hires including Senior Features Editor Sarah Rense, Senior Writers Khalisa Rae and Ezinne Ukoha, Video Lead Kady Ruth Ashcraft, and Staff Writers Gabrielle Bruney, Kylie Cheung, Audra Heinrichs and Emily Leibert.
The news comes on the heels of last year’s announcement that award-winning reporter and columnist Laura Bassett would be helming the modern women’s interest site as editor in chief.
“Jezebel celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, I couldn’t be more excited to honor that milestone with these new staff additions,” said Bassett. “Jezebel has always stood for smart reporting and writing with a sharp, fresh feminist take. I look forward to the contributions from these talented journalists to help continue our momentum and build upon the site’s storied legacy.”
"These exceptional hires reflect our commitment to Jezebel's future. There’s never been a more urgent time for Jezebel's singular voice. This is an all-star team, and under the leadership of Laura Bassett, they’re the ones to watch,” said G/O Media Deputy Editorial Director Lea Goldman.
“These staff additions underscore our overall business strategy of significantly investing in editorial headcount and video resources in all of our digital brands,” said Jim Spanfeller, CEO of G/O Media.”I look forward to Jezebel continuing its strong 2022 along with our entire portfolio of sites.”
Senior Features Editor Sarah Rense joins Jezebel following a six-year stint at Esquire, where she most recently served as lifestyle editor. Prior to that, Rense worked for Students Publishing Company, Great Lakes Publishing and The Cradle Adoption.
Senior Writer Khalisa Rae is an award-winning poet, activist and culture journalist. She comes to Jezebel as a former culture editor of Blavity News and author of the debut collection, "Ghost in a Black Girl's Throat" (Red Hen Press, 2021). Her work has appeared in Autostraddle, Black Girls Nerds, Catapult, Fodor's, Bitch Media, NBC-BLK, with work forthcoming in The Washington Post, NBC-Out and Los Angeles Times.
Senior Writer Ezinne Ukoha is a multimedia journalist with over 12 years of experience in print, web and video production. She founded pop culture site MyTrendyBuzz before joining Medium as a culture writer, where she was named to the platform’s “Noteworthy” list for her culture coverage.
Staff Writer Gabrielle Bruney was a writer-at-large at Esquire before joining Jezebel. Her coverage of culture and entertainment has appeared in Vice, Artsy and Opera America, among many others. She is the recipient of the Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship, which honors recent journalism school graduates.
Staff Writer Kylie Cheung reports on gender, politics and culture. She was a staff writer at Salon, and her extensive reporting on gender, power and identity has appeared in Teen Vogue, Rewire, Dame Magazine, Bitch Media, the Women's Media Center and Feministing, where she had a column. Cheung has also published two collections of feminist essays with North Atlantic Books.
Staff Writer Audra Heinrichs covers social justice, politics and culture. Her reporting on abortion restriction in her home state of Ohio has appeared on the front page of The Washington Post, and her work has been published by numerous outlets including Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Teen Vogue, Elle, The Independent, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Refinery29.
Staff Writer Emily Leibert specializes in gender as it intersects with sports. A former NFL cheerleader, she is especially interested in coverage of historically female-dominated sports like cheerleading, gymnastics, figure skating and dance, in a culture with rapidly shifting gender norms. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Refinery29, Allure, NBC News, Bustle and Men’s Health.
Video Lead Kady Ruth Ashcraft is a multidisciplinary artist whose work incorporates film, writing and print. Prior to Jezebel, she was the artist in residence at Paper Machine in New Orleans. Her work has also appeared on Comedy Central, IFC, Funny or Die and ABC. Her short films have been selected for thendie Memphis Film Festival, Lower East Side Festival, New York Television Festival and Women in Comedy Festival.
About Jezebel:
The pioneering site covers modern feminism in all its complexities. Jezebel is a witty and urgent nexus for original takes on politics, pop culture and everything in between. It is where smart, informed women find their daily dose of feminist inspiration.
About G/O Media:
G/O Media reaches more than a third of all Americans online each month with over 100 million unique visitors, including its extended network. This collection of digital-first brands serves a young, diverse audience with content that reflects their shared values and passions, including category-leading sites focused on tech and science (Gizmodo); pop culture and entertainment (The A.V. Club); sports news (Deadspin); car culture (Jalopnik); modern women’s interests (Jezebel); gaming (Kotaku); lifestyle (Lifehacker); food and drink (The Takeout); African American news and culture (The Root); humor and satire news (The Onion); and e-commerce (The Inventory).
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