Magazines

Just a week after Bloomberg began interviewing BusinessWeek staffers to decide who stays with the company, layoffs have begun.

Among the victims:
Stephen Baker reports on his blog that Nov. 30 is his last day. "This was not a big surprise for me. I had made clear my mixed feelings. So off I go. It doesn't mean I won't be sad to leave, and today is a wrenching day to be in our offices." He'll be freelancing and working on another book, so hit him up if you have work to be done.

Damian Joseph tweeted that he also lost his job: "Laid off by BusinessWeek.... Sucks. Kind of feels like being dumped by a girl you really liked."

And Steve Wildstrom, personal tech writer, tweeted this: "Just got word out of the blue that I will not be staying with BusinessWeek when we move to Bloomberg. I guess I'm on the market."

And Shirley Brady, the site's community editor, tweeted a mysterious-sounding message: "So folks, my role isn't continuing with Bloomberg but I'll be with BusinessWeek through Dec. 1st - and here beyond that. #staytuned"

Update 2:22 PM: Brady's already fielding new offers, she tells us via e-mail—good for you, woman! "Pretty confident I'll continue
to do what I love to do," she says. Hit her up at @shirleybrady if you have a gig for a community editor.

Update 1:40pm: Jon Fine, who is currently on sabbatical from BusinessWeek, will not be returning to the magazine. His tweet: "some sabbaticals last longer than others: I will not be returning to BusinessWeek and my column once Bloomberg owns the mag."

Update 1:56 pm:: Amy Choi is out too.

Update: Lauren Young, Rob Hof, and 122 others.

Do you know more? Please let us know.

Rumor has it that Hollywood Reporter and several other entertainment titles could be sold by tomorrow to James Finkelstein's News Communications Inc., owner of "Who's Who" publications, reports Sharon Waxman at The Wrap.

The other titles for sale are Billboard, Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek.

Waxman writes that though Nielsen CFO Brian West hinted on an earnings call that "our prime, core, iconic brands—Billboard, THR, etc." would be remaining with the company, her source says differently, and we could find out by tomorrow.

No word on what Finkelstein plans to do with the titles, but THR, at least, has been running on fumes lately.

Wondering where to look for your next job? Publishing Executive has ranked magazine publishing companies and come up with a list of the ten best ones, based on employee feedback, benefits offered, and more.

The catch? The mag companies up for evaluation were all self-selected, and we guess Hearst, Hachette, Time Inc., etc., were all too busy with other things to agree to fill out a silly survey. (Or, it's possible that none of them are a great place to work right now, but really?)

So topping the list are companies like Nei-Turner Media Group Inc., in Williams Bay, Wisc., and S&A Cherokee, in Cary, N.C., not any names you've heard of. And getting a job at any of these companies may be tough, as most of them hired fewer than 10 employees last year. But hey— you could be one of them.

What perks did the top companies offer? Well, Nei-Turner lets you bring your kid to work; Trade Press Media Group, the number two company, gives employees free baseball tickets, and Onboard Media, in Miami Beach, Fla., is within walking distance of the beach—and offers employees a free Zumba class daily. Imagination Publishing, in Chicago, Il., has a flextime program where employees may work from home for up to 90 days, or part-time at a reduced salary (presumably so you can go finish that novel or raise your child or whatever), with no negative effects.

Again, this is not on the level of Condé Nast perks—free sodas! flowers! coffee stirrers!, but those bennies are going by the wayside, too, so maybe baseball tickets are what we have to look forward to.

The buyout packages on offer at Time Inc.'s guild-covered magazines have attracted few takers, the NYP reports today.

Fortune magazine needs to cut about 40 employees, but only 20 have volunteered to leave; "Managing Editor Andy Serwer is widely expected to impose layoffs to make up the shortfall."

At the Sports Illustrated group, 30 positions need to be cut and the NYP estimates that fewer than 30 people have signed up for the buyout.

Time will probably meet its 12-person goal.

No word from People or Money yet.

Time magazine deputy managing editor Josh Tyrangiel will be editing Bloomberg BusinessWeek, minonline reports.

Tyrangiel replaces Stephen Adler, who announced his resignation last month.

Tyrangiel, 37, was considered a "rising star" at the magazine, working his way up from music critic to Time.com editor to deputy managing editor.

He'll report to Norman Pearlstine, chief content officer at Bloomberg, who met Tyrangiel a decade ago, when Tyrangiel was a reporter and Pearlstine was Time's editor in chief. "I came to appreciate his intelligence, curiosity, energy, and integrity," Pearlstine said in a statement.

Our colleague Amanda Ernst reports at FBNY that the rumor of Budget Travel closing is untrue.

A Newsweek spokesman says that "It's business as usual at Budget Travel and we are currently working to produce the February issue and beyond."

So what the heck, guys?
We're thrilled that nobody lost their job today, but rest assured we're going to keep an eye on this story to see what develops.

The Washington Blade was shuttered this morning when its parent company Window Media LLC ceased operations, effective immediately.

Window Media was the nation's largest gay and lesbian newspaper publisher, writes FishbowlDC.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution and Project Q Atlanta report that employees of Southern Voice, another Window Media paper, arrived at work this morning to find the doors locked and a sign posted:

It is with GREAT regret that we must inform you that effective immediately, the operations of Window Media, LLC and Unite Media, LLC have closed down.

Please return to this office on WEDNESDAY, November 18th, 2009 at 11:00 AM to collect personal belongings and to receive information on your separation stipulations. Please bring boxes and/or containers that will allow you to collect all your personal belongings at one time.

Regretfully,

Steve Myers
Mike Kitchens

Window Media has been in trouble for years, Todd Evans, president and chief executive officer of Rivendell Media, whose company buys advertising in gay media nationwide, told the AJC. He said he and others expected the publications to be shuttered years ago.

"I'm surprised it (closing of Window Media publications) didn't happen sooner," he said.

Indeed, Window Media has been in financial trouble for some time; the business has been in receivership (indicating the business is essentially failed) since February.

Blade editor Kevin Naff told Politico that the Blade staff is already beginning a new venture. The staff first meets tomorrow.

We hear that Budget Travel execs are meeting today at noon to discuss plans for the popular discount vacation mag. In this case, though, "plans" may mean "goodbye," as Chris Rovzar reports.

"Apparently, the offices of the title, which is owned by the Washington Post Company, are already emptying out. The company had a 33 percent drop in revenue for their magazine division in the most recent quarter, compared to the third quarter last year — but they attributed it publicly to losses in ad revenue at Newsweek."

If the magazine does shutter, January's issue may be its last: Our tipster adds that staff were in the midst of closing ad sales for February when "suddenly told to hold on the usually tight closing date."

Turns out that McGraw-Hill, not Bloomberg, will be responsible for paying severance to BusinessWeek staffers that Bloomberg chooses to cut, Silicon Alley Insider reports.

What's this mean? SAI theorizes that Bloomberg might be more cut-happy since it has less of a financial incentive to keep employees around.

But (we think), severance usually comes off a separate line item on a company's budget, and besides, when you're losing $40 million a year, you're not going to want to keep employees around for want of a severance payment.

Right?

After less than a year in the role, Reed Elsevier CEO Ian Smith is stepping down, folio: reports.

The company, which is the parent company of Reed Business Information (Variety, Broadcasting & Cable, etc) called the departure a "mutual agreement."

Smith will be replaced by Erik Engstrom, who was CEO of the Elsevier division.

Reed is currently trying to sell many of its U.S. magazines, including Broadcasting & Cable, Mutichannel News, Professional Builder, Publishers Weekly and Tradeshow Week.