I just saw that Conde Nast is shutting down Gourmet magazine after almost 70 years of publication. Despite having almost a million subscribers, it apparently simply no longer made financial sense to continue. Conde Nast is also closing parenting magazine Cookie and two wedding magazines, Elegant Bride and Modern Bride.
As a publisher myself, I really wonder where this is all headed. Almost everyone likes print magazines and, unlike newspaper subs, magazine subs continue to be strong. Problem is that advertisers now have so many other ways to spread the word that print advertising is in free fall. Another problem is that everyone must have a halfway decent website, which costs, and the website is expected to be free. So the public wants content for free, but creating that content costs money. It's a death spiral.
How has the web changed your magazine reading habits?
As a publisher myself, I really wonder where this is all headed. Almost everyone likes print magazines and, unlike newspaper subs, magazine subs continue to be strong. Problem is that advertisers now have so many other ways to spread the word that print advertising is in free fall. Another problem is that everyone must have a halfway decent website, which costs, and the website is expected to be free. So the public wants content for free, but creating that content costs money. It's a death spiral.
How has the web changed your magazine reading habits?
