InStyle's New Owner Confirms Plan to Kill Print Edition

[lucy92]

Barry Diller’s media group is stopping print circulation of six of the magazines it acquired when it bought Meredith Corp. last year, part of an effort to turn these publications into digital-only brands.

The company will stop publishing print editions for Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, EatingWell, Health, Parents and People en Español, Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel said Wednesday in a memo to staff, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

He also said the moves would result in about 200 job losses—which represents less than 5% of Dotdash Meredith’s total staff, according to a spokeswoman. The company said the April issues of all six magazines would be their final print editions.

“We have said from the beginning, buying Meredith was about buying brands, not magazines or websites,” Mr. Vogel said in his note. “It is not news to anyone that there has been a pronounced shift in readership and advertising from print to digital, and as a result, for a few important brands, print is no longer serving the brand’s core purpose.”

Barry Diller’s media group is stopping print circulation of six of the magazines it acquired when it bought Meredith Corp. last year, part of an effort to turn these publications into digital-only brands.

The company will stop publishing print editions for Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, EatingWell, Health, Parents and People en Español, Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel said Wednesday in a memo to staff, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

He also said the moves would result in about 200 job losses—which represents less than 5% of Dotdash Meredith’s total staff, according to a spokeswoman. The company said the April issues of all six magazines would be their final print editions.

“We have said from the beginning, buying Meredith was about buying brands, not magazines or websites,” Mr. Vogel said in his note. “It is not news to anyone that there has been a pronounced shift in readership and advertising from print to digital, and as a result, for a few important brands, print is no longer serving the brand’s core purpose.” WSJ/ by Alexandra Bruell

 

[Kimy Jo]

Its always sad to me to read about mag shuting down, but on the other hand i dont consume any of this titles
I guest if they dont bring anything new or different to the table, makes sense

 

[caioherrero]

Laura Brown should have left for Bazaar.

 

[gunsnroses]

I can’t believe the last print edition is that horrible Gigi cover

 

[8eight]

The April issue will be the last edition. Gigi is the March cover.

 

[B Brown]

Its always sad to me to read about mag shuting down, but on the other hand i dont consume any of this titles
I guest if they dont bring anything new or different to the table, makes sense

people aren't going to read online either so it really doesn't make a difference without better content.

 

[KoV]

I’d like to laugh and say serves them right for producing the same tired garbage month after month, but the writing is on the wall for even my favorite magazines, so there’s no room for hubris.

 

[vogue28]

Sad news. InStyle has some hit and miss covers (like most other fashion titles to be fair) but there is zero denying Laura Brown's dedication and enthusiasm is unmatched and she's became a great asset to the magazine industry. Fingers crossed the standard keeps up as they go digital!

 

[DK92]

Sad, but I don't understand why... Last time I remember InStyle's sales, the numbers were high and far superior to Vogue and other fashion magazines.

 

[KoV]

Sad, but I don't understand why... Last time I remember InStyle's sales, the numbers were high and far superior to Vogue and other fashion magazines.

I could be mistaken, but I believe Vogue has a larger readership now. And their digital numbers certainly knock everyone else out of the park.

Perhaps the inability to create any kind of buzz around any of their issues coupled with the pandemic has brought print sales to new lows. InStyle has next to no substantial online presence currently and its average reader is 45 years old (no doubt that number goes up every year), so I find the decision to go digital without building a stronger online base kind of curious. I guess Gigi was a sign that they’ll be trying a court a younger and more online audience going forward.

 

[Tigerlounge3000]

What a bummer - Laura Brown is a breath of fresh air and I loved what she did with the magazine. In Style and Elle are consistently the two mags that I actually reach for if I want to sit and read for half an hour.

 

[SLFC]

I wont miss it.

 

[A.D.C.]

I can honestly say I never bought an issue of Instyle.

 

[axiomatic]

That 5% of total staff seems pretty deliberately misleading, considering DotDash had so many other brands before the merger with Meredith. I wonder what percentage of the staff of the six closing magazines that 200 number encompasses.

I used to enjoy reading EW, but they ruined it turning it into a monthly magazine.

 

[tigerrouge]

About ten years ago, I loved buying American InStyle, they were often really thick issues, and like US Bazaar, it was full of generic glamour. It was an easy read. I probably preferred it to the UK edition, which went online-only in 2016 and I can't say I've ever given the content a second look since then, and this will be no different.

 

[Benn98]

^They used to be an advertising powerhouse. Vogue and the other had the biggest issue every March and September, but Instyle had the bigger issue every other month. It really baffled me that the page count was so high. And at the time a chunk of their content was paparazzi photos quite generic servicey content.

Time Inc really made a ton of money off this magazine in its heyday.

I wont miss it.

Neither will I. For me, the glory years of InStyle were during Ariel Foxman's last two years. And yes, I actually say that with the magazine's entire history in mind.
Laura has turned the magazine into Bazaar lite with her cheesy shoots and actual proceed cheese ads on the back cover.

 

[lucy92]

Neither will I. For me, the glory years of InStyle were during Ariel Foxman's last two years. And yes, I actually say that with the magazine's entire history in mind.
Laura has turned the magazine into Bazaar lite with her cheesy shoots and actual proceed cheese ads on the back cover.

Not to mention the overt product placement. It's so transparent when paid advertorials (that aren't truthfully labelled as advertorials) are placed near to the brand's full page ads in Instyle. Hello? You're not fooling anyone.

 

[Benn98]

Not to mention the overt product placement. It's so transparent when paid advertorials (that aren't truthfully labelled as advertorials) are placed near to the brand's full page ads in Instyle. Hello? You're not fooling anyone.

I'm so glad that advertising bodies across the globe started forcing magazines to declare in clear language when they're doing advertorials. I can't actually recall at which point it started. Just know that for so many years we were fed advertorials or 'single brand edits' which imo is just a fancy phrase for advertorials. Especially from the holy grail, VI under Franca & Meisel.

 

[AbbeyRoad]

I thought this would be one that would stick around for a while (and outlast Allure and Cosmo which I thought would go first). There has definitely been a decline in the quality and content over the past 2 years, IMO.

 

[Handbag Queen]

The April issue will be the last edition. Gigi is the March cover.

This is so depressing.