Another Friday, another Condé Nast magazine sees its publishing frequency decline. According to WWD, Lucky is going from 12 issues to 10, beginning with its December issue, which will be combined with January. June and July will also be combined.

Last Friday W took a similar route, dropping to 10 issues from a monthly.

Fingers crossed that next Friday is publishing cut back free.

W is cutting back from 12 issues a year to 10, despite relatively good ad page performance. As WWD reports, the magazine had a good year in 2012, upping ad pages by 10 percent compared to 2011. But even that wasn’t enough to keep W a monthly. Lucy Kriz, publisher of W, did her best to cast the change in a positive light.

“This is an intentional and strategic move to invest in the future of W, and there is no better time to do that than when you’re in a position of strength,” Kriz told WWD. “This strategy frees up resources for us to double down and go big on what matters most — big issues and digital.”

From now on, the December/January and June/July issues of W will be combined.

W magazine is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a special book out in stores this week. W: The First 40 Years, is a 340-page hardcover book that features a look back at the magazine’s history. It contains lots of photographs and new essays from writers such as Lynn Hirschberg, Marian McEvoy and Vince Aletti. But the most important thing you must know about W: The First 40 Years, is that it is not a coffee table book.

“It’s not just a coffee book. I really didn’t want a photography coffee book,” Stefano Tonchi, W’s editor-in-chief, told WWD. I wanted something people could actually learn from and learn about what the magazine is about. It’s about editorial choices. It’s not just about reproducing images.”

We’re pretty sure Tonchi means “coffee table book,” but no matter. Just remember, if you put the book anywhere near a coffee table — or even coffee! — Tonchi will come to your apartment and slug you.

Here’s a look at what FishbowlNY stories made the most buzz this week.

1. Cover Battle: W or Fast Company, Octonber 18
2. What People Are Saying About Newsweek Ending Print Edition, October 18
3. Citing Restructuring, AMI Announces Layoffs (left), October 19
4. Newsweek Ends Print Edition, Cust Expected, October 18
5. The Newspaper Endorsements, October 22
6. Media Professor Says WPIX Should Trim 10 P.M. News to 30 Minutes, October 23

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Welcome back to FishbowlNY’s weekly Cover Battle. Today we have W versus Fast Company. The above is actually one of four covers W did celebrating their 40th anniversary. We selected this one because Scarlett Johansson is dressed exactly like every girl we dated in high school. Hey, don’t judge. We were young, and our parents made us do chores when all we wanted to do was write angry poems. Girls who shopped at Hot Topic were the only ones who understood us and our pain.

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Lucy Kriz has been named vice president and publisher of W. Kriz was most recently senior executive director at Condé Nast Media Group, where she oversaw brand sales for several key categories. Prior to that, Kriz served as associate publisher for Details.

“Lucy’s career as a sales executive with extensive experience in fashion, beauty and luxury make her an ideal choice to lead W,” said Condé Nast’s CEO, Charles Townsend, in a statement. “Her strong client contacts, proven track record and deep passion for this brand will enable her to lift the market position of W to an even higher level.”

Kriz’s appointment is effective immediately.

W magazine, in celebration of its 40th anniversary, is launching a partnership with Hipstamatic, the photo app. If you’ve never heard of Hipstamatic, it’s basically the same thing as Instagram, only not as popular. It’s like Instagram’s less cool, but still vintage-y, little bro.

The two brands have launched WMag FreePak, a lens for the app inspired by the magazine, which is free for the first six weeks. By using the lens, users can enter a photo contest from W, whose editors will select a weekly winner. Those picked will have their work be featured on the magazine’s Facebook page, but the grand prize winners will eventually have their photos showcased on W’s website and alongside the magazine’s work at a month-long exhibition.

“During its 40 year existence, W has been a breeding ground for some of the industry’s most world-renowned fashion photographers,” said Caroline Wolff, W’s Photography Director. ”The WMag FreePak allows our brand to continue with this tradition of identifying and fostering talent but in a truly digital and social way.”

The app is available for download today.

March is an important issue for fashion magazines, so it’s good to hear that many of them are seeing strong ad sales. As the reports roll in, let’s look at the big winners so far.

Ad Age reports that Vogue sold a massive 443 ad pages for its March issue, up four percent from last year. InSyle, according to min, racked up 347 pages, making it the biggest March issue ever for the magazine. Elle also had successful results for the all-important spring fashion preview, grabbing 319 ad pages. Harper’s Bazaar and W both crossed the 200 page mark, with 271 and 204 ad pages, respectively.

The strong showing can mean good things for the economy. Nina Lawrence, Vice President and Publisher at W, explained to Ad Age, “Spring is the introduction of the new season that ignites the engine for consumers to spend.”

W magazine has named Kristin Reilly Davidsson Associate Publisher. Previously Reilly Davidsson split Associate Publishing duties with another staffer, but now she will manage W’s entire international advertising sales team by herself.

Before joining W, Reilly Davidsson worked as Glamour’s Advertising Director.

Reilly Davidsson will continue to report to Nina Lawrence, W’s Vice President and Publisher.

UPDATE:
If anyone is interested, W is also currently looking for an Advertising Director.