Mag Bag: Newsweek Daily Beast Co. Announces Layoffs

by Erik Sass, Dec 6, 2012, 4:09 PM

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Newsweek Daily Beast Co. Announces Layoffs

The Newsweek Daily Beast Co. is beginning a round of layoffs expected ever since the company announced it would close the print edition of Newsweek at year's-end. On Thursday, CEO Baba Shetty and Editor in Chief Tina Brown sent an email to newsroom staffers, noting: “The sad moment has arrived when we must go forth with the editorial staff reductions that we discussed in person with all of you several weeks ago. Employees in the affected positions will be notified today.”

According to various press reports, the company will lose about $40 million this year. In the first nine months of 2012, total ad pages are up 1.5% to 509, according to the Publishers Information Bureau; however, that’s down 62.5% from 1,360 in the same period of 2006. Newsweek’s total print circulation fell from 3,142,281 in the six-month period ending June 2006 to 1,497,808 in the six-month period ending June 2012, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
 
Brown also announced that Newsweek executive editor Justine Rosenthal has been promoted to editorial director for the company, while Newsweek International Executive Editor Tunku Varadarajan has been promoted to editor of Newsweek Global. Deirde Depke has been promoted to the position of editor of The Daily Beast.
 
Bonnier Shutters Caribbean Travel + Life

Bonnier Corp. is closing Caribbean Travel + Life at the beginning of 2013, following its January-February issue. Some of the Caribbean travel-focused reporting will shift to Bonnier’s Islands, which will also increase its frequency to 10 times per year.  Islands is supposed to publish two issues devoted to the Caribbean next year, in May and November. The shuttering of the magazine means the associated TV program on the Discovery Channel will also cease production.
 
Koorbusch Leaves Men's Health For Say Media
 
Not long after Men’s Health Editor in Chief David Zinczenko left Rodale, associate publisher Tim Koorbusch revealed he is leaving the company to join Say Media as vice president of U.S. sales. This isn’t the first magazine exec poached by Say Media, which owns Style Bubble, Read Write Web and xojane.com, the Web site founded by Jane Pratt of Jane fame. In July, Say named Kim Kelleher, previously the publisher of Time, as president.
 
Kahn To Chief Biz Dev Officer, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing
 
Greg Kahn has been named chief business development officer at Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, the marketing services division of Meredith Corp. Kahn will be responsible for overseeing new business development, as well as key marketing initiatives. He previously served as executive vice president and business development director for Optimedia International, where he managed the agency’s business development, social media, research and marketing programs.
 
Wagner To EVP, Communications, MPA
 
Meredith Wagner has been named executive vice president for communications at the MPA, The
Association of Magazine Media, effective Jan. 7. Wagner comes to the MPA from Women for Women International, a nonprofit, where she served as CMO. Before Women for Women, she served as executive vice president for communications, public affairs, and advocacy at Lifetime Networks from 2001-2009.

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