Blog Magazine

Saved by the Bell Cast Reunites on People Magazine Cover

We're not ashamed to admit we are excited about this week's People magazine cover story--a "Saved by the Bell" cast reunion. Ever since actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar appeared on "The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon" as his trouble-making alter-ego character Zack Morris, we figured a "Saved by the Bell" reunion was imminent. Of course, we expected it on the Jimmy Fallon show, not People magazine, but we'll take what we can get.

Magazine News Round-Up

• Steven Pleshette Murphy, president and CEO of Rodale Inc., publishers of Men's Health magazine among others, is leaving the company after nine years. Maria Rodale, granddaughter of company founder J.I. Rodale and its previous chairpersons Robert Rodale and Ardath Rodale, will succeed him as CEO Sept. 1.

• Nissan and Sports Illustrated magazine are embarking on a 10-stop tour to celebrate Heisman Trophy's 75th anniversary with college football fans. 

• And lastly, American Media Inc. announced it will suspend publication of Mom & Baby magazine and scale back Natural Health magazine's frequency from 10 times to eight times a year, starting in 2010.

Music Magazines Out of Tune with Readers

While the recent success of Paste magazine's reader-donation campaign briefly buoyed our spirits over the waning music magazine genre, Slate's excellent blog on the "The three biggest reasons music magazines are dying," snapped us back to the grim reality.

Women's Magazine Produces Web Series

Meredith Corp.'s More magazine has teamed up with "Sex and the City" creator Candace Bushnell, on a new web series called "The Broadroom." The series will star Jennie Garth and Talia Balsam and will focus on workplace issues facing women. In addition to the web series, Candace Bushnell will write two columns for the September and October issues of More magazine. 

Angered Subscriber Sues Vibe Magazine

Kenneth Rogers of Enterprise, Alabama filed a federal lawsuit against Vibe magazine, which folded recently, for breach of contract. Rogers, who reportedly subscribed to Vibe magazine three months before it was shuttered, is saying the magazine misled him and others when it continued to advertise readers to buy subscriptions while the magazine was "quietly closing up shop."

Generally, when a magazine folds, publishers complete the remainder of the magazine subscription with another magazine. Kenneth Rogers is requesting Vibe Media Group to refund subscribers for the issues they won't receive.

While we understand Kenneth Rogers' frustration, we're wondering if a lawsuit is the appropriate action. What do you think? Would you consider suing a magazine that folds to get your money back?

What do you think about publishers fulfilling magazine subscriptions to shuttered titles with another magazine? Tell us about your experience and what you liked or wished the publisher would have done.

Women's Magazines: Helpful or Harmful Advice?

Earlier this week Writer Cathy Alter, author of the memoir, Up for Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over, defended the relevancy and helpfulness of women's magazines. What do you think? Tell us if you think advice from women's magazines is helpful or harmful. Have you followed advice from a women's magazine? What was the outcome?

Business Magazines, Conde Nast Woes and a Little Hope for Print

Reuters reported yesterday on the fate (time to prove their relevance) of the three top business magazines, BusinessWeek, Fortune and Forbes.

Fears of low ad page numbers have come true for Conde Nast, publisher of Vogue, W, Gourmet, Allure and many other magazines; the depressing news: as a whole, monthly magazine ad pages are down 37 percent.

And finally, here's an interesting interview with Complex magazine (a men's lifestyle magazine) CEO on what magazines need to do to survive.

Editor Leaving Celebrity Magazine

Us Weekly magazine's longtime editor Janice Min, announced yesterday she will step down from her position when her contract expires at the beginning of August. After seven years at the celeb magazine, Min told the New York Times, "I felt like I’d done every possible thing at Us Weekly to make it successful.”

In a letter to Us Weekly magazine's staff Min said, ""After six years as the editor of Us Weekly, I am leaving. In short, I decided it was time to try something else in my life, do a little Gosselin detox and occasionally go out on Monday nights."

Moon Landing on Magazine Covers

Today on the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, we found some vintage magazine covers of the astronauts who led the first era of moon walking. Also, we think National Geographic magazine's space article first published in their December 1969 issue is worth a read.

 

Magazine News Round-Up: Deals, Layoffs, a Triumph and Predictions

Last week we noted the Consumers Union and Consumer Reports magazine were in budget negotiations. The employees of Consumers Union voted today to give up a 3 percent pay raise and certain perks to avoid layoffs.

McGraw-Hill announced yesterday it eliminated 550 positions company-wide at BusinessWeek magazine. Earlier this week business news outlets reported the publisher was selling the magazine.

Runner’s World magazine reports an increased circulation of 5% in the first half of 2009, a major accomplishment considering magazine sales are down industry-wide.

And finally, it's almost time for college football season, which means all the sports magazines are putting out their preseason predictions.