PRINTMagazine mortalities
Four flops fail to join Vox for a 10-year reunion
May 15, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Be careful what you subscribe to. Magazines are failing at rates so quickly that the “12 issues for just $19.95” special might not make it past two.
“A lot of people say that newspapers and magazines are dying,” says Dr. Samir Husni, MU graduate and chair of the journalism department at the University of Mississippi. “They aren’t dying; they’re committing suicide.” Husni, the magazine expert popularly known as Mr. Magazine, says connecting with an audience is key when it comes to magazine success. “You have to be able to relate to that audience and interact with them,” he says. “Magazines and newspapers are the best interactive media out there, as long as we deliver relevant content.”
Several magazines that launched in 1998 didn’t fare as well as Vox. Here are a few rags that won’t be putting out their 10th anniversary issues.
TEEN PEOPLE
Launched: 1998
Folded: 2006
Teen People was once the homecoming queen of pubescent periodicals. People’s offspring wanted to provide youngsters with celebrity news, fashion and photos, but being a trendsetter didn’t last. New teen-oriented magazines emerged, such as Cosmo Girl and Teen Vogue, which stole more than Teen People’s style; they also
stole its readership. When the magazine couldn’t withstand the competition, parent company Time Inc. ceased print publication but continued it online.
“Magazines are not only competing with each other, they’re now competing for people’s time, especially when it
comes to younger audiences,” says John Fennell, associate professor in magazine journalism at MU and former editor at Milwaukee magazine. “How is a magazine supposed to compete with Facebook, MySpace and the entertainment industry in general? The information must be fresh and interesting while still offering what readers want and need.”
BUSINESS 2.0
Launched: 1998
Folded: 2007
Business 2.0 didn’t quite take care of business. This magazine, which provided readers with what they needed to know about the dot-com economy, shut down when advertising fell by nearly 40 percent. Time Inc. purchased the magazine in 2001 from U.K. media company Future Network. Under Time Inc.’s wing, Business 2.0 came close to breaking even, but sales were not steady. The publication refused buyout offers from owners of rival magazine Fast Company as well as other interested buyers who wished to purchase Business 2.0 and its circulation of 600,000. Even a Facebook-based campaign to save the magazine couldn’t keep it alive.
Husni says advertising dollars are a major influence on the success or failure of a magazine. “Without deep pockets, a magazine can’t survive.”
Much like the dot-com bubble its name mimics, the magazine’s success ultimately burst. With a snappy title like
Business 2.0, who’d have seen it coming?
STUFF
Launched: 1998
Folded: 2007
Can there ever be enough guy-friendly magazines that are overly stuffed with scantily clad women? Materialistic Stuff magazine burst onto the scene with a simple plan for filling pages — guy stuff. Sex, sports, jokes, gear and hype were to be Stuff’s stuff that dreams are made of. But with a plethora of already existing lad mags, it struggled to find advertisers’ support.
“Defining a market that didn’t exist before is pretty critical for the success of a new magazine,” Fennell says.
Just short of a decade-long run, Stuff was forced to fold, but unlike a centerfold, it was not a beautiful thing. Just because it flopped doesn’t mean it disappeared completely. When Quadrangle Group took over Dennis Publishing, its parent company, in 2007, Stuff was almost immediately moved into Maxim as a regular section called “Stuff for Men.” Similar to Teen People, the original guy guide also lives on in cyberspace.
BLAZE
Launched: 1998
Folded: 2000
Of all the magazines in this list, the flame of success for Blaze was the first to burn out. Blaze was created as a spinoff of urban and music culture magazine, Vibe. Rather than reaching out to Vibe’s 18- to 34-year-old audience, Blaze attempted to fire up the much younger 12- to 24-year old hip-hop music fan. Miller Publishing,
who once thought the idea of Blaze was smokin’ hot, was surprised to find that readership failed to reach projected levels, and the magazine was losing money rather than earning it.
“Magazines don’t anticipate the money needed for long-term sustainability, or they underestimate the cost of what it takes to succeed over the long run,” says Fennell.
Publishers might have foreseen its demise and put the magazine on the market in 1998. A reportedly high asking price drove away potential buyers. Blaze’s failure further proves that young people and fire are never a good idea.
