Rolling Stone, Variety publisher Penske Media closes NYC offices

Penske Media, owner of WWD (formerly Women’s Wear Daily), Variety and Rolling Stone, has shut down all nine floors of its New York City offices after one confirmed case of coronavirus last week, The Post has learned.

The closure affects some 500 NYC employees and has also resulted in the media company closing its Los Angeles-based headquarters, where another 500 people work, sources said.

Prior to closing its NYC office at 475 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan, Penske Media — like most major media operations — had given its employees the option of working from home.

That changed after a staffer tested positive for COVID-19 — resulting in all of Penske’s offices around the world being temporarily closed on Friday, according to one insider.

WWD’s NYC staffers attended fashion shows in the coronavirus-infected countries of Italy and France last month, but the staffer who was infected did not work for WWD, said a source close to the situation.

The employee who tested positive is believed to work in administration and to have picked up the deadly coronavirus domestically, the source said.

Penske Media CEO Jay Penske on Monday established a $100,000 fund through his PMC Angel Fund for employees who need help meeting basic needs during the crisis, sources added.