No Joke: Meena Harris’ Phenomenal Media Acquires Satirical Publication ‘Reductress’
- Vice President Kamala Devi Harris’ niece hopes the acquisition will help the media and marketing company “move farther into the entertainment space.”
Meena Harris’ media and marketing company Phenomenal Media has acquired Reductress, a satirical publication founded in 2013 by Beth Newell and Sarah Pappalardo. It parodies the style, tone, and perspective of media targeted toward women, especially women’s magazines.
Vice President Kamala Devi Harris’ niece told Adweek that “the acquisition will help Phenomenal Media move farther into the entertainment space.” She said, “the hope is that we will be able to unlock so much more around the voice, audience and humor of Reductress, as well as continue to grow what Reductress has already been doing with and under the Phenomenal brand.”
Best known for its comedic headlines paired with stock imagery, the site is edited by Pappalardo and has previously staffed writers who have gone on to write for “Saturday Night Live,” “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” and “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. “The site, which has ventured into other mediums like events and podcasts, is also preparing to publish a book, ‘How to Stay Productive While The World Is Ending,’ next May,” the entertainment portal added.
An attorney by training, Harris launched the media and merchandising company in March 2017 with apparel bearing slogans like “Phenomenal Woman” (based on Maya Angelou’s poem), and with books like “Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea,” about her mother and aunt’s childhood.
Last year, the company diversified into the entertainment space. Harris told The Hollywood Reporter at the time that the company’s making the move now “because they have built a consumer-facing brand with a loyal, engaged built-in audience that is waiting for the next thing, and has come to be this amazing, vibrant community.”
She added that “with its move into entertainment,” the company “will continue to focus its lens on content and partnerships that center women and historically excluded communities.” She admitted that the expansion “is honestly happening much more quickly than we planned, which is very exciting.”
Phenomenal already has existing partnerships with some entertainment companies as well, including a partnership with Netflix on Bridgerton-themed apparel.