Cuts Meet a Culture of Spending at Condé Nast (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

The New York Times ^ | September 27, 2009 | Stephanie Clifford

[abb]

A three-month McKinsey & Company project advising the publisher how to reduce costs is drawing to a close, and several magazines have been told to cut about 25 percent from their budgets. The company’s editors and publishers have already been under pressure to reduce costs this year, as advertising has plunged, and Condé Nast has closed two magazines in 2009, Domino and Condé Nast Portfolio.

But cost-cutting at Condé Nast is not quite like cost-cutting at other publishers. For example, on Oct. 13, the men’s magazine GQ will host a party in Washington to promote its list of powerful capital players, to appear in its November issue. The party is upscale: it will be held at the 701 Restaurant, known for its caviar and live piano music.

That is not the only expense involved. Several editorial employees will travel from New York for the evening. And they received an e-mail message recently reminding them to limit their expenses for the night — to $1,000 a person.

That culture of spending at Condé Nast explains some of the fascination with the place, which incites a mix of envy and scorn among employees at other magazines. Condé Nast’s top editors and publishers have drivers on call, staff members can be reimbursed for $15 a day for lunches they order in, and even freelance writers stay at hotels like the W when they are on assignment.

Those perks would be unremarkable at any investment bank or law firm, at least before the recession. But magazine companies other than Condé Nast have become grim places to work in recent years.

Time Inc. outlined layoffs of 600 employees last October, almost all of which were completed by the end of last year, Dawn Bridges, a spokeswoman for Time Inc., said in an e-mail message.

snip

[abb]

Monday morning good news.

[abb]

ping

[GeronL]

wow. More unemployed America-hating leftists..

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Who reads these magazines ?

[GeronL]

I dunno.

I haven’t read a magazine in years besides that free one I’ve been getting from the NRA.

[abb]

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20090928/time-warner-dumping-its-magazines-not-so-fast/
Time Warner Dumping Its Magazines? Not So Fast

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-et-onthemedia28-2009sep28,0,1950200,full.column
Nonprofit news is good news

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/business/media/28cbs.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
To Cover World, CBS Joins With a News Site

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/business/media/28drill.html?ref=business
Hit TV Shows Have Most-Skipped Ads

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/business/media/28kings.html?ref=business
To Get Coverage, a Team Hires Its Own Reporter

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/25/AR2009092502475.html
A Diverse Audience Mobs Jerry Capeci’s Web Site

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/special-reports/media-outlook/e3icbd5f8a8048766fc70131c5503c66a9b
Media Outlook 2010: Crawling From the Wreckage

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/954c54cc-ab8f-11de-9be4-00144feabdc0.html
AOL’s Running Man steps up for advertising accolade

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/FineOnMedia/archives/2009/09/big_time_warner.html
Big Time Warner Investor: Sell Magazines, Buy Entertainment

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=139286
Desperate Spokeswives: A New Marriage With Ads

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/cnn_planning_life_after_larry_lWyMPbhX6hInKwsrUDWNeJ
CNN planning life after Larry

http://www.newsweek.com/id/216176
Ebony: Up for Sale?

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090927/FREE/309279992
Red ink catches up with Condé Nast

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8048316
Publisher: Salt Lake Tribune to start charging fees to online readers

[GeronL]

Non-profit news is good news?

Tell that to those people at the St Pete Times who are getting a 5% pay cut.... or is it the Tampa paper thats a “non-profit”?

[Zakeet]

From the article: Still, advertising, where Condé Nast makes most of its money, has been hammered. Condé Nast magazines have lost about 8,000 ad pages through the October issues compared with last year, according to Media Industry Newsletter. Those figures exclude the company’s bridal magazines. That is a decline of about one-third.

Ms. Siegel said some cost controls were appropriate but she hoped they would not affect the quality of the magazines. “I love their magazines — I think they’re pretty, I like the way they feel, and I think the reproduction is lovely,” she said. “That’s why I would hope that one of the things their consultants will not tell them is to, in any way, diminish the quality of what they’re offering, because that is something that makes those titles valuable.”

In other words, If they don't cut costs, they are eaten alive by expenses and die. If they do cut costs, they lose their special identity in the market place, and with it their incremental revenues, and die.

Decisions ... decisions!!

[STONEWALLS]

“Who reads these magazines ?”

....for 25 years I was a New Yorker subscriber...but gradually they began to drift Left and I became annoyed....when Bush II ran for President they went hard Left and I dropped my subscription...they still write me from time to time wanting me back...that gives me a chance to give them a piece of my mind.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The New Yorker and Atlantic were a couple of my favorite magazines, along with the NYT book review newspaper.
I loved the exceptional writing in these magazines but have now canceled all but the book review. I just can't put up with the monthly lip curling sneer toward conservatives published in their pages. To hell with them.

[Zakeet]

About our leftie friends at Chicken Noodle News, Time Mag, and Hollywierd Warner ...

From: Time Warner Dumping Its Magazines? Not So Fast

The spreadsheet at the bottom of the page shows Time margins down 77% for the six months ended 6/30 compared to the earlier year (which as you will recall was down significantly from the prior year).

The article goes on to report, "The company has already said it expects similar numbers for the remainder of 2009."

[junta]

The Left prays for socialist stagnation, and then goes out of business when it becomes reality, and then they cry about getting what they asked for.

[abb]

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-ratings28-2009sep28,0,4400322.story
Strong start to the fall TV season

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=25025
WSJ on the Kindle, meet price elasticity

http://www.contentbridges.com/2009/09/bay-area-online-news-renaissance.html
Bay Area Online News Renaissance: 7 Pointers Forward

http://www.startribune.com/business/61611592.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUX
Out from bankruptcy, Star Tribune in new hands

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/355464-Cover_Story_Broadcast_Execs_Can_Breathe_Again.php
Cover Story: Broadcast Execs Can Breathe Again
Premiere week offers plenty of positives, though some veterans are already in trouble

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/27/AR2009092702713.html
Will cable roughhousing extract a price?

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB125409124090044737-lMyQjAxMDI5NTI0ODAyOTgxWj.html
Philadelphia Papers Faulted by PBGC

http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/
Non-profit news ventures go big time

http://www.gannettoid.com/index.html
N.J. papers focus on ‘Tax crush’

http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/09/is-transparency-the-new-objectivity-2-visions-of-journos-on-social-media/
Is transparency the new objectivity? 2 visions of journos on social media

[abb]

And here is said chart. It is beautiful, ain't it?

[STONEWALLS]

“I just can’t put up with the monthly lip curling sneer toward conservatives published in their pages. To hell with them.”

....EXACTLY!!

[all the best]

Who reads these magazines?

The most affluent. And ironically these publications have been at the forefront of promoting socialism for decades.

[abb]

St. Pete Times.

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=8090

[ponygirl]

Condé Nast publishes Vogue magazine, Travel & Leisure, The New Yorker, Wired, Bon Apetit, Golf Digest, Architectural Digest, Details and more. A lot of people read them.

[abb]

Here’s their website with a list. Like all magazines, their circulation is declining along with their ad pages.

http://www.condenast.com/

[ponygirl]

I'm aware. A few years ago when I was job hunting I tried everything to get a foot in the door over there but found it virtually impossible. It is a snake nest of liberals though, so things probably worked out better in the end.

When it comes to the design industry, their products are top notch.