Posted on 09/28/2009 6:31:39 AM PDT by 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 companys 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 mens 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 Nasts 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
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
ping
wow. More unemployed America-hating leftists..
Who reads these magazines ?
I dunno.
I haven’t read a magazine in years besides that free one I’ve been getting from the NRA.
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
AOLs 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
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”?
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 theyre pretty, I like the way they feel, and I think the reproduction is lovely, she said. Thats 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 theyre 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!!
“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.
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."
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.
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
“I just can’t put up with the monthly lip curling sneer toward conservatives published in their pages. To hell with them.”
....EXACTLY!!
Who reads these magazines?
The most affluent. And ironically these publications have been at the forefront of promoting socialism for decades.
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.
Here’s their website with a list. Like all magazines, their circulation is declining along with their ad pages.
When it comes to the design industry, their products are top notch.
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