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Conde Nast
closing four magazines

Axed: Gourmet, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride and Cookie

By Diego Vasquez
Oct 6, 2009

The chopping has begun at Condé Nast, and one of the victims is Gourmet, the well-respected 68-year-old food title, along with three other magazines.

Following a three-month review by the consulting company McKinsey & Co., Condé Nast will shut down Gourmet, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride and Cookie.

That's according to a widely quoted memo sent to staff yesterday morning by Condé Nast CEO Chuck Townsend, who did not specify when the titles' last issues would be released or how much of their staffs may be sticking around.

Reports out yesterday had 180 workers losing their jobs.

Gourmet's book publishing and television programming divisions will continue, as will its recipes on Epicurious.com. It's uncertain whether Ruth Reichl, the title's influential editor and a bestselling author, will remain at Condé Nast, though the company could certainly save money by slashing her seven-figure salary.

Gourmet's death is the most significant of the four magazines. It has been publishing since 1940, and even Bon Appétit publisher Paul Jowdy said early this year in an interview with the New York Times that he could not foresee Condé Nast closing either magazine.

That was before Condé Nast lost some 8,000 ad pages this year. During the first half, Gourmet was off 46 percent year to year, from 465 to 251 pages, a couple behind Bon Appétit. That's much higher than the food category overall, which declined 26 percent for the eight magazines tracked by Media Life.

Elegant Bride and Modern Bride were also down significantly, 32.5 percent and 21.5 percent, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.

The bridal magazine closures will consolidate the publishing company's wedding publications, according to Townsend.

"Brides will increase its frequency to monthly to solidify its position as the most important brand in the bridal category, and Modern Bride and Elegant Bride will close," says Townsend in the memo.

Cookie is the youngest of the bunch, launching just four years ago. Its closure follows that of Wondertime, another higher-end parenting publication that shuttered earlier this year.

Cookie's ad pages slipped 19.5 percent during the first half of the year, the biggest decline of any of the remaining major parenting titles.

Diego Vasquez is a staff writer for Media Life.	© 2010 Media Life Magazine

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