Layoffs at 'Scientific American' show depth of ad meltdown

Sarah Gilbert — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:20:00 EST

Filed under: Bad News, Magazines, Marketing and Advertising

Ad pages have been falling throughout the magazine publishing industry, and titles have been shut down at a breakneck pace this year, with newspapers not far behind. Some titles seem immune to the problem; or, at the very least, the lesser of many evilly-immense decreases. Scientific American, as a unit of book publishing juggernaut Macmillan, was one of those at only an 18.1% ad page decline in 2009's first quarter. And the title, 164 years old, has weathered many storms in the industry; it's as solid as an oak.

Yesterday, news of a reorganization had industry onlookers worried that a few employees would be let go. By the end of the day, media watchers were shocked as Editor-in-Chief John Rennie, who's held that role for 15 years, and at least 20 other employees were laid off.

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Layoffs at 'Scientific American' show depth of ad meltdown originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ziff Davis: The very model of the modern magazine business

Tom Barlow — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:15:00 EST

Filed under: Deals, Products and Services, Magazines, Internet, Competitive Strategy

As the nation's paper publications scramble to find new profit centers in the rapidly-changing advertising market, they could do worse than look to Ziff Davis Holdings (OTC:ZFDH) as an example.

Ziff Davis built its company on print magazines covering the electronic revolution, including its flagship PC Magazine. During the heydays of the late 1990's, when magazines routinely broke 300 pages thanks to the advertising glut, such magazines were goldmines.

After the dot.com bust, though, and with the transition of many advertisers to the internet, such halcyon days are gone. Rather than attempt to play out its string, Ziff Davis has decided to embrace the new media.

A major step in this transition was the selling off to Insight Venture Partners of its Enterprise Group, including the magazines Baseline, CIO and eWeek. What remains is a business much more focused on electronic media, positioning itself as the go-to source for technology information.

The remaining Ziff Davis Holdings Co. is a leaner, more focused company that has managed to increase its EBITDA even though its revenues have dropped. It still has work to do, staunching the bleeding from its gaming-oriented magazines and the decline in print advertising in PC Magazine. However, it seems to be on the right track, and could be worth a look-see for those who like tech stocks.

Ziff Davis: The very model of the modern magazine business originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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