A source told The New York Post that part of the problem at Lifestyle & Entertainment Direct was an inability to adapt by featuring new products, and that former RDA CFO Tom Williams was incapable of guiding the business out of its doldrums.

Lifestyle & Entertainment Direct reported an operating loss of $292 million last fiscal year.

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“Susan is a highly respected human resource professional, with a background virtually tailored to our needs. We are very pleased to have her on board the RDA team,” said Guth. “Her deep experience in the global business environment as well as her expertise in refocusing resources will be critical as we concentrate on our core businesses and simplify and strengthen our organization.”

Cummiskey joins RDA from her practice as a leadership coach and human resource consultant, which she began in 2011. Prior to starting her own firm, Cummiskey was senior vice president, human resources, for Bowne & Co, Inc. (now part of RR Donnelly & Sons).

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Officials at Scholastic haven’t offered any clues into how many staffers will be kept once the publication is under their control. “We’re still working on it,” a spokesperson told the Post.

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“As you have seen, we are very deliberately moving forward with our transformation plans for RDA,” said CEO Robert Guth in a memo that was obtained by the New York Post.

The exact number of the deal is unknown, but sources told the Post they believe it to be somewhere around or right below $5 million.

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By adding the site, Meredith is giving its web presence quite a boost. “The acquisition of Allrecipes.com, the market leader in the digital food space, significantly enhances our leading consumer and advertiser proposition,” said Meredith’s CEO, Steve Lacy. “It more than doubles the scale of the Meredith Women’s Digital Network, and is expected to drive incremental revenue and profit growth, adding to our already strong free cash flow over time.”

When the sale was announced, some speculated that RDA would end up getting less than $200 million, which was less than RDA had hoped for. That prediction was right on, as Meredith has purchased the site for $175 million.

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According to Folio, a RDA spokesperson echoed the company line when discussing the job cuts. “In tandem, we are evaluating existing businesses which are not strategic and/or profitable, reducing our cost structure and identifying operating efficiencies,” said the spokesperson in an email.

When any company starts talking about “reducing,” it’s a bad sign for staffers. In other words, these cuts will likely be followed by more. The spokesperson didn’t deny that, saying, “As we continue to transform our company, we do expect that as a normal course of business, some positions will be eliminated and some new jobs will be created.”

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At the time, Robert Guth, RDA’s CEO, said the company decided to sell the popular site as a “commitment to enhancing shareholder value and sharpening our strategic and financial focus on our core master brands.” However, rumors are that potential buyers for AllRecipes are eyeing the site for a lot less than most thought.

According to the New York Post, the lead candidates to buy AllRecipes are Meredith, Scripps Network and Amazon. Each is allegedly hoping to get the food site for less than $200 million. We’re not sure exactly how much analysts think AllRecipes is worth, but that seems about right to us. It’s a popular site; but a limited one. Stay tuned for more, the site is a nice brand to have, so we’re sure it’ll be sold soon.

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Even though it maintains a strong online presence, selling AllRecipes.com is part of RDA’s dedication to its central brands. “The exploration of a sale of Allrecipes demonstrates our commitment to enhancing shareholder value and sharpening our strategic and financial focus on our core master brands such as Reader’s Digest, Taste of Home and Family Handyman,” said recently appointed CEO Robert Guth.

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(Via Esquire)

Keep in mind that this is only a rumor, but according to Adweek, the biggest reason for Reader’s Digest Association (RDA) selling Every Day with Rachael Ray to Meredith yesterday was that Rachael Ray wanted more money. One source claimed that Ray was never happy with the amount of money she was getting from the magazine, and another said, “Rachael wanted a better deal, and they [RDA] [weren't] prepared to do it.”

Another problem was RDA’s contract with Ray, which kept the company from growing the title. “Because our agreement limited our participation to producing just a magazine, we were unable to expand the brand and its content across multiple platforms,” RDA’s CEO, Robert Guth, admitted. “Going forward, it was not a fit with our master brand strategy.”

Meredith apparently has a better deal in place as far as expanding the brand, but there’s no word on if the new contract includes more money for Ray.

How about that headline, by the way? We almost went with something that included “Sad Sammie” or “Not So Yum-O,” but ultimately went with “Delish” because it didn’t make us want to stab ourselves.

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Sounds like a lot for a company that is experiencing some dark times. According to Folio, revenue for RDA is down 21 percent through 2011′s first quarter, and despite doctor’s loving Reader’s Digest, its circulation continues to drop.

If RDA is looking for hope, it should look no farther than Myspace’s recent sale. Sure, News Corp. lost a ton of money on the deal, but it proves that there’s always someone out there looking to buy whatever someone else is selling.

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Williams has been with RDA since 2009, and previously served as the CFO for Affinion Group and AT&T.

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Tighe comes to RDA from Condé Nast, where she was Vice President and General Manager of the Fairchild Education and Conference Divisions.

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The brand also represents RDA’s efforts to shift its emphasis away from its flagship, Reader’s Digest, which has struggled to define itself at a time when general interest publications are on the wane. RDA emerged from a prepackaged bankruptcy earlier this year and has cut the frequency and circulation of Reader’s Digest to reduce expenses.

The good news for Reader’s Digest is that the magazine will never die completely, because every old person in the nation owns at least 27 years worth of issues.

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Although the Reader’s Digest publisher had planned to emerge from Chapter 11 today, the company said this morning that it was delaying, “to address an issue” dealing the pension plan at its U.K. division the Reader’s Digest Association, Ltd.

“Last month, the U.K. entity came to an agreement with the trustees of its pension plan and the U.K. Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to resolve the company’s U.K. pension fund deficit,” the company explained. “This agreement was contingent on approval from the U.K. Pensions Regulator, which has now indicated that it will not approve the pension application. In light of this unexpected ruling, the U.K. entity is now reviewing its options in an attempt to find a solution.”

This problem doesn’t affect any of RDA’s U.S. holdings, the company added, and RDA should be out of Chapter 11 in a few weeks.

RDA entered bankruptcy in August, in an effort to reduce its $2.2 billion in debt to $550 million through a pre-packaged plan.

Previously: Reader’s Digest Plans To Restructure Debt Through Ch. 11

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Bloomberg: A bankruptcy court has approved Reader’s Digest Association‘s reorganization plan, which will allow the company to cut its debt by 75 percent.

Wall Street Journal: Newspaper publisher MediaNews Group said Friday that its parent company will seek bankruptcy protection.

Folio: Why would the publisher of boating publications want to purchase newspaper trade Editor & Publisher? Duncan McIntosh tells Folio the impetus behind his decision.

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