Condé Nast Publications Inc. absorbed nearly two decades of losses at the New Yorker. On Monday, it pulled the plug on Portfolio magazine after less than two years.
From the Wall Street Journal:
Condé Nast Publications Inc. absorbed nearly two decades of losses at the New Yorker. On Monday, it pulled the plug on Portfolio magazine after less than two years.
The closure of the monthly business glossy shows how profoundly the advertising downturn has shifted the paradigm at Condé Nast, a publisher with a reputation for operating less out of concern for profit than the cachet its slate of prestigious titles conferred.
The recession has accelerated the erosion of advertising across print media, including at Condé Nast’s newspaper and magazine properties that for years helped prop up its unprofitable but respected titles. Executives at Condé Nast determined the next 18 months will be too difficult to continue investing in Portfolio.
With advertising revenues plummeting in this global financial crisis, there’s no doubt other magazines will follow Portfolio’s demise, says MarketWatch Columnist Jon Friedman.
“Editorially, we were proud of the product and the team that produced it,” said David Carey, group president of a collection of Condé Nast titles that includes Portfolio. “But our timing, in terms of building an advertising franchise, proved to be terrible.”
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