Mag Bag: 'Gourmet' Makes Partial Print Comeback

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After being chucked in the big recycling bin in the sky by Conde Nast last October, Gourmet is creeping back, first with a series of new Gourmet-branded digital offerings and more recently with new print products for the newsstand. But there's no word so far on a possible return for the defunct (but much-beloved) epicurean magazine itself.

The new print products are special editions that fall in the category of "bookazines," or more accurately, "cookbookazines." The first, Gourmet Kitchen, is a 128-page illustrated cookbook scheduled to hit newsstands September 7 with a cover price of $10.99. Edited by Kemp Minifie and Catherine Kelley, it brings together some of the storied title's most popular recipes for over 81 quick dishes, along with suggested menus and wine pairings. The two subsequent special editions have yet to be named.

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In June, Conde Nast announced that it would be reviving the Gourmet title as a mobile social app for smartphones and Apple's iPad, which will give users access to the magazine's huge archive of premium food-related content. Scheduled to launch in November, the app will monetize social media consumption with game-like functions for earning virtual currency by recruiting friends and sharing articles and recipes.

The news of a revived digital and print presence for Gourmet comes after a year-long push to expand the digital and print content offerings for Conde Nast's food titles, including its Web destination, Epicurious.com. In April, Conde relaunched the "Epicurious Recipes and Shopping List" as "Cook's Companion," which offers cookbook layouts, enhanced shopping lists and bookmark-tracking for users searching its database of over 28,000 recipes, drawn from the archives of Gourmet and Bon Appétit. Epicurous also draws on outside content, like wine-pairing suggestions from Snooth.com.

Last week, Parade and Conde Nast announced the launch of new newspaper-distributed monthly food magazine Dash, drawing on content from Bon Appetit, Gourmet and Epicurious, as well as content from Parade. The monthly publication schedule will begin in February 2011, with a planned circulation of 8 million -- covering roughly 100 top newspapers, skewed to large suburban markets. Gourmet will contribute "Gourmet Recommends," covering products including cookbooks, appliances and ingredients.

Unglued: Paste Closes Print Edition, Web Stays

Paste, the monthly music magazine, is closing its print publication, ending delivery to over 200,000 subscribers. However, the brand will continue publishing on the Web, according to Editor in Chief Josh Jackson. This will actually be a return to its roots: Paste began as an online-only publication in 1998, before launching a print edition in 2002. Last year the magazine asked readers to donate money to keep it going, citing the sharp downturn in magazine advertising revenues.

Popular Photography Launches Tablet Edition

Bonnier Corp. has unveiled its second digital magazine edition for Apple's iPad, with the launch of Popular Photography's new tablet edition, Popular Photography+, on sale now at the iTunes App Store with an introductory price of $2.99 per issue, and launch advertisers including Sprint, Intel, Michelin, Sony, THK, SanDisk, and Shell Corporate. Earlier this year, Bonnier launched Popular Science+, also designed for the iPad, and the publisher is planning to introduce similar digital editions for many of its enthusiast titles by the end of the year.

Cobb to PGA CEO; Porter to Leave

The Publishing Group of America, which publishes newspaper-distributed magazines including American Profile, Relish, and Spry, is getting a new CEO, John Cobb III, who will replace outgoing CEO Dick Porter, the company announced this week. Porter is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. Cobb's previous experience includes key business roles at for Peterson Publishing, EMAP, PRIMEDIA and Source Interlink Media. In his most recent role, Cobb served as senior vice president for digital at Source Interlink, with responsibility for over 100 Web properties.

Monocle Opens New Store In NYC

It's only a 188-square-foot retail space. But to Tyler Brûlé, the editor in chief of Monocle magazine, the storefront on 535 Hudson Street in Greenwich Village works. Per The New York Times, it houses his latest Monocle emporium; others stretch from London to Tokyo, Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

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