The Business of Magazines

[j'adorekapusta]

now this makes me really sad:

Arena magazine to close after 22 years

3 March 2009
By Owen Amos

Monthly men's magazine Arena is set to close with the potential loss of 12 jobs. Parent company Bauer Consumer Media said the magazine, which had a 29,374 circulation according to ABC, was being "suspended". The April issue, out this month, will be the last. A four-week staff consultation has begun. Press Gazette understands there could be up to 12 redundancies in editorial and advertising. Arena launched in 1986, and was bought by Emap in 1999 from Wagadon. Its circulation in 1996 was in excess of 90,000. Its sales are dwarfed by Bauer stablemates FHM, with a 272,545 circulation, and the weekly Zoo, with a 145,555 circulation. The publisher said in a statement: "Bauer Media has announced that it has reluctantly taken the decision to suspend Arena. "We will be working with our partners to ensure the continued success of Arena’s International editions. "Arena's suspension does not affect Homme Plus, which carries on as an icon in the Men’s fashion and style market, edited by Jo-Ann Furniss. "Following this decision, we have now entered consultations with several members of staff. "We will be seeking opportunities to redeploy our talented teams in other areas of the group and will not discuss individual employee circumstances until consultation has concluded."

source pressgazette.co.uk

 

[nyc_art_style]

i'm not quite sure what interview means by model-lite. do they mean it girls?

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | wwd.com

ARNAULT AND MORE: WSJ., the Wall Street Journal’s glossy magazine, is back with a fashion-themed March issue, this time with a cover subject that delivers on several of its promises at once: access courtesy of the Journal’s resources (an interview with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chief Bernard Arnault), a lifestyle cast to hard news (the article explores how LVMH might fare in the downturn, but also depicts Arnault’s family life by visiting his home), and glossy photography (a cover shot and inside portfolio of Arnault by Mario Testino).

What it delivers significantly less of are ad pages: there are 27 of them, out of 92 total pages in the national edition, and four additional ones in a New York version. By contrast, September’s premiere issue had 51 ad pages out of a total of 104. The third issue, unlike the first two, is saddle-stitched rather than perfect-bound.

Though the original plan was to go monthly this year, WSJ. is remaining a quarterly in response to market conditions. Publisher Ellen Asmodeo-Giglio put it bluntly: “The commitment is there, the investment is there, but the advertising is not. We’re still going full force, but the ad climate is extremely challenging.”

Asmodeo-Giglio emphasized that News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch remains committed to the magazine, despite the deep losses at the Dow Jones operation recently reported by News Corp. “I know that the magazine is a priority for him to maintain and to grow eventually,” she said, adding the initiative has brought in new advertisers that are often bundled with newspaper and digital buys at the Journal.

As for Arnault, in the story he hints LVMH might be looking to acquire more companies. “We’re about to enter a market of buyers over the next six-to-eight months,” he said. “There will be opportunities, and we will be looking at them.” According to the magazine, Arnault was at time of writing “in talks to invest in a fashion company with ecological and ethical goals founded by a global celebrity.” (Neither WSJ. nor Arnault elaborated, but could it be Edun, Bono’s green clothing line?)

Tina Gaudoin, the editor of WSJ., said the magazine will soon become even more “style-oriented.” WSJ. has yet to replace Sasha Wilkins, formerly executive style editor, though former Men’s Vogue fashion news editor Sara James has been acting as style editor. “We are working on the style editor position,” said a spokesman.

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | wwd.com

AGINS STAYS, SORT OF: Speaking of the Journal, Teri Agins — who has her first WSJ. magazine byline, on Rodarte, in the March issue — will continue to write her “Ask Teri” column and possibly additional freelance articles for the paper. Agins, a nearly 25-year Journal veteran, is going to be a contract employee in the wake of the elimination of the fashion and retail bureau, said a spokesman for the newspaper. Other projects may be ahead as well: “I will not disappear,” she told WWD. Some of the staffers who formed the now-defunct bureau have been reassigned to other parts of the paper, where they will continue to cover similar topics, but Francine Schwadel, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan and Jennifer Saranow have left the company.

 

[surrealseven]

Daphne is Not Doing POP


If Daphne Guinness sounded like she was distancing herself from the POP project
after the world pretty much laughed at Dasha Zhukova’s appointment as editor-in-chief,
it’s because she, apparently, really was.

Yesterday, in regards to her involvement with POP, she told Derek Blasberg that she
would like to “emphasize that I’m completely neutral here—I’m a free agent! Fashion is
my family and I love everyone just the same.” It sounded weird, but ok.

And now today, she’s blogged on the Starworks site that “it was so FUNNY to read on the
web that I am on the new board of POP Magazine with Dasha Zhukova and my friend Ashley
Heath. It was flattering but not true I am afraid. It came as a complete surprise. A complete
misunderstanding! That is the nature of the web.”

Guess the web - er, the Guardian, actually - got it wrong…

fashionista

 

[disclosed]

new magazine

I have heard through the grapevine that there is going to be a hugggge new magazine launching next year? apparently edward enninful is going to be editor-in-chief?

 

[mikel]

Monday, March 02, 2009

Interview to adopt retro logo back in conjunction with May 2009 redesign
Monday, March 02, 2009

(MILAN) The recent installation of Inteview creative directors Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag is fostering widespread change in the magazine's look.

Alongside a model-lite approach to fashion editorial and, of course, a full redesign, the magazine will experience a very different cover treatment--including a new logo. "We're going back to a retro style," editorial director Glenn O'Brien explained at last night's private dinner hosted by Roberto Cavalli to launch his Cavalli Card. Expect the revamped look and logo to appear in the May issue.

source | fashion week daily

Oh no that means no more models right?

 

[Aby]

20 Ans is back

source:fashionmag.com

Le mensuel féminin avait disparu des kiosques en 2007, fermé par son groupe de presse d’alors, Mondadori France. Depuis, racheté par la société FT Médias, détentrice de Miss et Le Lycéen, 20 ans s’apprête à reprendre du service le 8 avril 2009.

Racheté sans sa rédaction, le mensuel féminin des 18-25 ans revient donc avec une nouvelle équipe. Il gardera les points forts du titre créé en 1961 et donnera une place importante à la mode et à la beauté.

L’entreprise FT Médias annonce pour ce retour un tirage de 200 000 exemplaires et s'est donné comme objectif de diffusion 120 000 exemplaires sous six mois. Publié en deux formats sur 136 pages, 20 ans proposera des offres de couplages avec Miss, un magazine dédié aux 15-18 ans (150 000 exemplaires diffusés selon l’éditeur).

Pour rappel, de 2002 à 2006, 20 ans était passé de 124 000 exemplaires (diffusion France payée) à moins de 100 000 (source : OJD).

Par Céline Vautard

Basically translated, 20 ans the monthly magazine in which Alt started is relaunched next April 8th.

It will be published in 2 sizes, certainly pocket/regular, with 136 pages.

 

[nyc_art_style]

what type of readers is 20 ans geared towards?

 

[dr4732]

what type of readers is 20 ans geared towards?

To the 18-25 years old. I didn't really like the old version of 20 ans so i hope the new version will be interesting.

 

[Gary101]

From the Arena UK Website
As you might have heard, Arena has suspended publication after 22 years.

The final edition goes on sale next week, featuring an interview with The House Bunny’s comic bombshell Anna Faris, an exclusive face-to-face encounter with Mike Tyson, a portfolio of the most stunning indie music girls and a report on the rise of the ‘new amateur entrepreneurs’.

There’s a celebration of ‘80s cars, profiles of Watchmen star Matthew Goode and maverick surfing legend Greg Long, and the return of Flight Of The Conchords - plus Liverpool hero Jamie Carragher selects his ‘First and Last’. There’s also the usual pages of fashion and grooming, opinion, music and film reviews.

The April 2009 issue of Arena is on sale on 12 March.

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | wwd.com

Confusion at Pop Magazine

CLEARING THINGS UP — OR NOT: Bauer Media’s newly relaunched Pop magazine named a starry editorial board last week, whose members include Alice Rawsthorn, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld and Peter Saville. But there seems to be some confusion over exactly who’s on the team and what their roles will be.

One person the group won’t include is Daphne Guinness, despite Pop editorial director Ashley Heath’s earlier claims she’d be on the board. “While I have admired the work of the editorial team at Pop for some time, it was not correct to say that I had agreed to be on the editorial board,” Guinness said. “While it was flattering to have been asked, I do not want to be so closely associated with one magazine. I am very fond of Ashley and there is every possibility that we will work on a project at some point in the future.”

As for Heath, he said of Guinness, “She wants to be seen as media neutral, and I respect Daphne’s wishes on that. The important thing is Daphne feels she can contribute to the magazine going forward in a free and adventurous manner.”

There also seems to be some confusion about Olympia Scarry’s role. Scarry told WWD last week that she would be artistic director. Not so, according to Heath, who said her role will be announced along with the rest of the magazine’s creative team.

Heath stressed the group won’t be actually running the magazine, adding he plans to reveal the full editorial team in London after the Paris shows. “The editorial board is very important, but it’s not the masthead. I think there’s been some confusion over that,” he said. “The concept of the editorial board is a group of collaborative friends or trustees who constantly talk through and enhance ideas the magazine is considering covering. [They’re like] the guardians of our Pop universe, and therefore of Pop the magazine.” Do they get superhero costumes?

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | cnn

CNN Revealed follows the fiercely fashionable editor-in-chief of French Vogue as she stalks fashion weeks in Paris and New York for the latest incarnation of style. Coming up on Revealed: Carine Roitfeld
ALL TIMES GMT
Wednesday, March 18: 0930, 1830
Saturday, March 21: 0830, 1900
Sunday, March 22: 0530, 1830
Monday, March 23: 0400

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | nytimes

Behind the Lines
On Thursday morning at Balenciaga, the first big show of Paris Fashion Week, the invited guests – Salma Hayek and Catherine Deneuve among them – found themselves waiting to take their seats for several minutes, and being shushed, while Morley Safer of “60 Minutes” was finishing up an interview with Anna Wintour.

For all the anxiety over which journalists would be skipping the collections this season over economic concerns, Mr. Safer’s presence here has created a stir. He has been working on profile of Ms. Wintour, the editor of Vogue, whose role at the magazine has been the subject of intense speculation since she marked her 20th anniversary last year.

Mr. Safer, who said the profile would probably air in May, attended the Ralph Lauren show in New York last month with Ms. Wintour, as well as the Dolce & Gabbana show and a party for the exhibition, “Extreme Beauty in Vogue,” in Milan.

“It’s only slightly less dangerous than covering wars,” he said. “In Milan, it was about the same as covering Vietnam.”

After the show, which included 33 models made up to appear as if they did not have eyebrows, Mr. Safer said he had not formulated a strong opinion on fashion.

“It’s kind of a blur for me and I am ignorant of the minutia,” he said. “It’s not my regular beat, you understand.”

 

[nyc_art_style]

sounds like things are already falling apart at pop

i can't wait to see the cnn program on carine

and morley safer sounds ridiculous. as rachael zoe would say, "we aren't saving lives. it's just fashion." since when is conducting an interview with an editor and attending a fashion show as tough as vietnam. i don't even understand why he would say something like that. i'm surprised the pr team at balenciaga let him in. it's supposedly easier to get into fort knox than it is to get into that show.

 

[MissMagAddict]

^Yeah... I hear what you're saying... but 60 Minutes is one of the most prestigious news programs in the word... so I can see why Balenciaga & any other designer would let Safer in.

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | wwd.com

Magazine Publishers Cut Budgets Again

EVERYBODY’S DOING IT: After a much tougher-than-feared first quarter, almost every magazine publisher is going back in and cutting its 2009 budget again. (According to Media Industry Newsletter, advertising in beauty and fashion titles alone fell more than 20 percent during the first three months of the year.)

This week, Hachette Filipacchi Media and Rodale realigned their sales staffs and consolidated some positions in order to find efficiencies within their rosters, while Condé Nast (owner of WWD) and Hearst are also making further adjustments.

At Condé Nast, insiders say all publishers have been asked to show how they might cut up to 10 percent from their overall budgets, although no specific targets have been set. This follows a company-wide mandate in November that required each title to trim 5 percent of its overhead and 5 percent from head count. Additionally, Condé Nast has instated a company-wide wage freeze and has suspended the tuition reimbursement benefit for employees.

To meet the 10 percent goal, most publishers are expected to spend less on events, travel and other areas. But observers speculate further layoffs could come in certain departments, including Condé Nast Media Group, which is not producing two of its biggest programs, Fashion Rocks and Movies Rocks, this year.

A Condé Nast spokeswoman declined comment, but chief executive officer Chuck Townsend sent a memo to employees Thursday. “Unavoidably, as the downturn extends, we have to make additional difficult decisions to manage costs and ensure our financial well-being,” he wrote. “These decisions involve all of us. We’ll all have to do more with less and accept that some of the benefits and resources that were available to us in robust economic times will have to be scaled back — and revisited when the economy and our business recover lost ground. The best course of action is for us to prudently and responsibly manage our business costs and expenses through these troubled waters, assuring us the opportunity to fully participate in the recovery that lies ahead.”

Meanwhile, over at Hearst, there has been talk of small staff reductions at a few titles, but insiders say the extent of any future cuts will be far from the “floor-by-floor” ones made last fall. “How we do business is always evolving, and that includes beefing up in some areas and streamlining in others. It’s all about being smart and managing your business efficiently,” a Hearst spokeswoman said. “Unlike many of our competitors, Hearst continues to hire and introduce new products, like Food Network Magazine.” One way the company has cut costs, according to several insiders, is not to provide employees with cell phones or PDAs. Instead, Hearst will ask staffers to purchase their own phones and give them a stipend toward the hardware, as well as a monthly allowance toward their bill.

 

[tigerrouge]

A small piece from the Guardian (guardian.co.uk)

Hard times in the world of high fashion

Lost in Showbiz blog by Hadley Freeman
Friday 6 March 2009

Lost in Showbiz has been attending the fashion shows in Milan and Paris this week. Some have claimed that the credit crunch has had a palpable effect on the fashion season and, after finding some totally wack generic cosmetics in one goody bag as opposed to half-decent designer ones, I can assure you that is the case. But even more painful is news of expenses cutbacks among the international fashion press.

According to the New York Times, Vanity Fair is considering putting the kibosh on paying for photographer Mario Testino's private plane. What, it is making Mario go commercial?

But that is one of the foretold signs of the approach of the apocalypse! Over at French Vogue, they're taking the demise of the world's economy very seriously and so far their one gesture to international bankruptcy has been ... to get rid of the coffee machine.

But as fashion magazines always say about expenditure, it's all about balance; so while les dames de Vogue may be forgoing their in-office coffee, Lost in Showbiz was pleased to note that they did hire two separate private cars to take round the two members of staff at the shows in Milan: one car for the editor and one for the fashion editor. French Vogue, this column says, bon travail!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/lostinshowbiz/2009/mar/06/lost-showbiz-fashion-recession

 

[MissMagAddict]

^Reads to me as though they're just making a joke of the entire economic crisis. I hardly find that funny.

Thanks for posting tigerrouge

 

[MissMagAddict]

screencap by MMA from harpersbazaarmediakit