Cuts at The Atlantic Set Off Alarm Bells for the Industry

Even as layoffs, pay cuts and indefinite furloughs become an almost daily occurrence in the media industry, news about such developments grows no less tragic and alarming. Such was the case Thursday morning, when Atlantic Media chairman David Bradley revealed in a staff memo that, despite gaining 160,000 new subscribers since launching a metered paywall last September, 68 employees at The Atlantic would be informed by 11:00 a.m. that they'd lost their jobs. The cuts, which represent 17% of the magazine's approximately 400 staffers, were made necessary by a decline in advertising and "the overnight and near-complete undoing of in-person events," Bradley said, while noting that those let go include sales and events staffers, but also writers, editors and those in marketing. Advertising aside, the impact of a pause on in-person events on the magazine's top line was certainly significant. In a normal year, The Atlantic produces more than 100 live events, which reportedly account for up to a quarter of its annual revenues and likely a larger share of its margins. Formerly profitable, The Atlantic sank into the red last year, insiders told The Wall Street Journal, after embarking on an aggressive expansion that included hiring about 100 additional employees under new owner Laurene Powell Jobs, whose Emerson Collective acquired a majority stake in the magazine in July 2017, investing a reported $100 million. While providing 16 weeks of severance pay to dismissed staffers is... Continue reading at 'Folio Magazine'

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-05-21 16:30:08 UTC ]
News tagged with: #financially viable #full ownership #feel optimistic #monthly traffic #audience growth

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Cut to the Core: Better Luck Next Year

Fall 2013 will be remembered as the season that the Common Core State Standards began to take effect—and it was a rocky rollout indeed. As the calendar marks a new year, we pause now to reflect upon what has been a bumpy first few months. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ipso, the new press regulator, is just the PCC with extra bells and whistles

Ipso is a creature of the publishers in which they will continue to hold the strings – including the purse-stringsAt last, the new press regulator is emerging from the shadows. The Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso), the great invention of the majority of Britain's newspaper and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Major library cuts approved by Welsh authority

Rhondda Cynon Taf has approved budget plans that will see more than half of its 26 libraries... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Elizabeth Jane Howard biography set for 2016

An authorised biography of novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard by Artemis Cooper will be released in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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2014 Predictions - Industry leaders share their views

Tom Weldon, c.e.o. Penguin Random House UK Lessons from 2013 include: the shift to online sales... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Industry Stocks Soared in 2013

Aided by one of the biggest bull rallies in years, the core Publishers Weekly Stock Index soared 51.2% in 2013, almost double that of the gain posted by the entire Dow Jones Industrial Average. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Shelf-help' books set to fill publishers' coffers in 2014

New 'intellectually credible' self-improvement books set to outsell celebrity biographies in 2014Sir Alex Ferguson may have the coveted Christmas number one spot with the record-breaking sales of his memoir, My Autobiography. But not even celebrity memoirs are likely to match the publishing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Inc. Eyes Candidates for Chief Revenue Officer, Mulls Cost-Cutting Options

You might think December would be the calm before the storm at Time Inc., which is, to say the least, expecting an eventful 2014. But CEO Joe Ripp is busy this month too.The company, which publishes magazines including People and Sports Illustrated, is slated to spin off from parent Time Warner... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2013-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Campaigners protest over Herefordshire library cuts

Library campaigners in Herefordshire have urged the council to abandon plans to slash funding and... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Which science fiction classic should be the next HBO box set?

HBO's award-winning adaptations are novelistic in ambition, but TV executives hoping to follow Game of Thrones should look to the starsIt's almost commonplace to suggest that the HBO box set is now television's answer to the novel – witness the wily self-publishers who have started publishing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alt-Week 12.7.13: Wormhole short-cuts, watery planets and history as seen by Google Books

Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days. Don't pack your bags just yet, but Hubble has found indirect evidence of water on five different planets -- a lot of it, in some cases. Bigger brains ... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Autumn statement: UK's special effects industry cheered by tax relief plan

Chancellor's measures to help film business likely to encourage more Hollywood studios to use British post-production facilitiesThe UK's film special effects industry has received a shot in the arm with the government announcing plans to make it easier for Hollywood studios to qualify for UK tax... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA and ABA team up with Toy Industry Association

BookExpo America (BEA) and the American Booksellers Association (ABA) have teamed up with the Toy... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon’s Australian Kindle store: an unhappy ending for the book industry?

Amazon has been prising open the wallets of Australian consumers for years – but what will its local push on Kindle mean for readers, writers and publishers?Ben Eltham Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ALA 2014 Preview: Cut to the Core: On the Front Lines of the Common Core Rollout

In October, we gave what was scheduled to be a one-hour presentation to a group of public librarians and library directors on collaboration between school and public libraries. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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G’day! New Aussie/Kiwi Literary Festival Sets Sail in London

London's new Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts had a glamorous, clever launch on Monday. It takes place May 29-June 1, 2014. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Osprey cut losses in 2012

Osprey Publishing slashed losses and grew turnover in 2012. The publisher, which has filed... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tribune Publishing Cuts 700 Jobs as it Restructures

Tribune Co. chief executive officer Peter Liguori tells employees that “we have decided to unify the non-editorial functions of our publishing businesses,” but “creating these critical efficiencies and ensuring the ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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No Game Without Drama: Slovenia’s Publishing Industry in Turmoil

With one of Slovenia's two major publishing conglomerates up for auction, the industry fears the worst; readers, meanwhile, have rallied around a surprise bestseller. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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