Content Wise

Ad Execs to Supervise Editors--a Really Bad Idea

Here's a scary juxtaposition of articles about the upheaval in the publishing industry--or maybe it's a useful warning sign.

In today's New York Times, just beneath the coverage of National Geographic's decision to end regular publication of Adventure magazine (the latest victim of the pandemic of dwindling advertising) is a story about a bizarre management change at the Dallas Morning News. The News has decided that some of its editors should report to advertising sales executives.

Media ethicist professor Loren Ghiglione (my first boss in journalism) told the Times that while the need to sell ads has always helped shape news coverage to some extent, "this does seem to me to take it to a slightly different level."

Slightly?

Assuming that the ad folks aren't actually dictating editorial coverage (we can hope, can't we?), there is still the critical issue of perception, as Ghiglione points out. No matter what the details of this new structure really are, it just looks like a sell-out. Editors are being managed by the people who sell advertising. How could that not undercut the perceived independence, credibility, and value of the newspaper's articles among its readers?

As newspapers and magazines go through the agonizing process of reinvention, we are all scrambling to survive. But let's not shoot ourselves in the foot, people. Anyway you look at it, this is a bad idea.

Agree, disagree? Please chime in.

Goodbye, Gourmet

Despite all the leaked reports about 25 percent across-the-board budget cuts and dire times ahead, it's still a shock. Condé Nast yesterday announced the closing of Gourmet magazine, that 68-year-old institution of food and luxury lifestyle, along with three other titles: parenting magazine Cookie and the wedding books Elegant Bride and Modern Bride.

According to today's New York Times' appreciation, the move signals a dominance of middle-class appetites over those of the elite. Translation: Mass-market food advertising is not hurting as badly as the deluxe category. (Chief executive Charles Townsend explained the company's thinking in more detail to the Times' Media Decoder blog.)

This is a dramatic confirmation of the reality we can't escape. At least in this economy, publications that emphasize practical, servicey coverage will have a better survival rate than the inspirational, aspirational, good-read magazines.

Think Every Day With Rachel Ray, a quick-cooking guide. And Condé's own recipe-heavy Bon Appétit--which survived this latest round of grim reaping.

Magazine for Newspapers Quits Print;One on Luxury Guitars Starts Up

Presstime, the magazine of the Newspaper Association of America, has just published its last issue in print. Beginning in June, Presstime will cover its industry—including the painfully relevant story of how hard it is for publications to survive as hard-copy products—in a digital format only, on the association's Web site. The New York Times has details.

While the perceived value of newspapers continues to swoon, the magazine company Future US believes there's a substantial pool of potential readers out there who value pricey guitars—and cars, watches, wine, and "the deluxe life," in general. The company has just launched Guitar Aficionado.

This looks like a smart business move. Coverage of celebrities, investments, high-end lifestyle, and big-ticket travel is probably a magnet for advertising.

We take any launch these days as a hopeful sign. And we wish Guitar Aficionado well. Still, we can't help wishing there were room in this economy not only for a magazine that serves up guitar porn and luxury but also for one that serves the people who put out the nation's newspapers.

What do you think?

Portfolio Magazine: R.I.P.

Just catching up on a little Grim Reaper bookkeeping... We hereby add Condé Nast's Portfolio to our list of deceased magazines.

The closing of the two-year-old business glossy and its Web site was announced late last month. Portfolio was the victim of the same severe advertising downturn that has been threatening the entire industry—as well as, perhaps, a touch of mega-media-company hubris. David Carr of the New York Times reported:

Most of the $100 million pledged toward the start-up is gone, sunk into the very expensive printing, paper, marketing and editorial costs that go with creating a magazine, especially one published by Condé Nast.

Carr also noted that Portfolio apparently kept to its extravagant ways until near the very end. To dress up a November 2008 story about JP Morgan Chase entitled "The $58 Trillion Elephant in the Room," the magazine hired a real elephant for the photo shoot. Cost: $30,000.

Jon Fine at BusinessWeek.com posted a thoughtful postmortem.

Dead Magazine List: Blender Starts Us Off

Maybe it's a little morbid, but we think it would be useful to start tracking all the magazine closings during this difficult year. So we're adding a new category for this blog: Dead Magazines.

First up: Blender, which has been covering music and entertainment with a "laddie" sensibility since 2001. Alpha Media group, just announced that the magazine's April issue will be its last.

As publishers always say at this point, the brand will continue online at Blender.com.

When we get a minute, we're going to set up a stand-alone page where we'll gather all notices of 2009 magazine closings into a centralized inventory, the Dead Magazine List.

We could use your help. If you hear of a new closing, want to remind us about a magazine that ceased publication earlier this year, or have some thoughts about what's going on, please add a comment here or e-mail us.

Masthead Magazine Ends Print Edition

We just got our latest issue of Canada's Masthead magazine. Turns out, it's also the last issue.

The end of a print publication is not so unusual these days, but there's a bitter irony in the demise of a magazine that covers magazines.

Under the defiant cover line "Long Live Magazines," this final "special collector's edition" touts several painfully relevant stories.

• Why print still matters
• Do you need a digital edition?
• Business Outlook Survey: a bright future for magazines--but not necessarily in print

And of course the magazine invites its readers to visit MastheadOnline.com, where the brand plans to live on. One hopeful, and telling, sign: Masthead's weekly e-mail bulletin, which carries advertising, has a larger circulation than the print magazine--and it's been larger for several years.

We wish our friends and colleagues at Masthead success with their all-digital strategy.