Harper's Bazaar closed its Los Angeles and San Francisco sales offices this week and hired an outside firm to handle ad sales on the West Coast. The magazine trimmed positions in its merchandising division last week. "Harper's Bazaar hired a firm to manage sales on the West Coast. We think it's a smart decision - given that we've had growth in paging and share," says a magazine rep. No sales jobs in New York were affected. Hearst is joining other publishers in trying to trim its cost structure. President Cathie Black is going "floor by floor" at …

John Koten, CEO of Mansueto Ventures, owner of Inc. and Fast Company, worries that his magazines are particularly sensitive to the recent credit crunch. "We're writing for fast-growth companies, and they need credit to maintain their growth. If they can't expand, they are going to be hurt." As a result, instead of the 20% of revenue growth expected this year, Koten is seeing about 10%. "We put a lot of investment in digital media based on expectations of growing digital income, but we are turning back now because the next six-to-12 months are uncertain." He says the …

It may be late 2009 before the economy recovers enough for new consumer magazines, but a Singapore publisher is betting the luxury magazine market is stable enough to launch one in February. CR Media plans to introduce Prestige New York, a U.S. version of its Prestige Singapore flagship. Editorial will include the predictable mix of city society leaders, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, politicians and innovators, but with an atypical international flavor. The monthly will target "high net worth individuals" with controlled circulation of 50,000.,br> Finding advertisers may prove to be tricky. Ad pages for the Robb Report and Departures magazines, …

This fall, popular broadcast-TV shows are seeing their audiences jump by more than one-third when you include people who record the shows and watch them later on DVRs. But even with those viewers added, fewer people overall are watching the big broadcast networks. During the first two weeks of the TV season, an average of 9 million people watched prime-time programming live and within seven days. That's down 6.6% from last year, per Nielsen. Bigger problems ahead include the growing popularity of broadcast TV shows on Internet services like Apple's iTunes, which are "training the …

Fox news has signed up Bill O'Reilly for another tour of duty. The pugnacious pundit says that he signed the contract despite what he sees as a constant assault on his reputation. The deal is for four years at more than $10 million a year. After re-signing Sean Hannity and luring Glen Beck from CNN in recent weeks, Fox has now solidified a conservative lineup that has kept the channel's ratings high. "The O'Reilly Factor" has been the top-rated program in cable news for nearly eight years, averaging more than 4 million viewers nightly since last month. …

Insiders say Time Inc. CEO Ann Moore will reverse her decision to step down in 18 months, preferring to stay in charge though the industry downturn, including a new round of expected layoffs. Most of the cuts are likely to be centered in New York, where the company has about 3,500 employees. On the plus side, Moore can boast that Time Inc. is getting about 15% of its revenue from digital operations, which is far more than its rivals. By sticking around, Moore also hopes to expand cross-magazine sharing on the editorial side. As a sign of …

News Corp. COO Peter Chernin warns of the danger an upcoming Supreme Court case could pose to First Amendment freedoms. The case, slated for Nov. 4, stems from the FCC's attempt to clamp down on fleeting expletives uttered in live, unscripted programming. The FCC had ruled that Fox stations' airing of Nicole Richie's and Cher's profane comments during a live awards broadcast in 2002 and 2003 was indecent. The FCC ruling was overturned in a lower court, and it is going to the high court to get the ruling reinstated. "If we are found in violation, just think …

Sports Illustrated Kids is hoping that 3-D content will revive ad sales for its magazine the way 3-D movies help boost ticket sales. Many photos and half the ads in the Time Inc. title's November NBA preview issue are in 3-D. Photographer David Klutho, who shot the 3-D content, also shot the photos in SI Kids' new book, "In Your Face 3-D," which is being released in conjunction with the special magazine issue. So far, the 3-D stunt has helped lift ad pages nearly 26%. In general, kids' magazines have fought a tough battle for ad pages as …