• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, August 6, 2009

Time Inc. Shutters Southern Accents

The list of magazine casualties keeps on growing. That latest victim is Southern Accents, a bimonthly title from Time Inc.'s Southern Progress Corp., which is closing after its September/October issue. Southern Accents was a regional lifestyle title targeting women with a taste for refined elegance associated with classic Southern homes and gardens; it also covered travel, fine arts and antiques.

But its high-end appeal couldn't save the magazine from the same recessionary forces that hit other shelter and homemaking titles beginning with the collapse of the housing market in 2006. In the first half of the year, ad pages dropped 37.4% compared to the same period in 2008, from 282 to 176.

Indeed, the last couple of years have not been kind to shelter and homemaking titles in general. In 2007, Conde Nast shuttered the venerable House & Garden magazine, launched in 1901. Since then, the recession has seen the closing of Blueprint, a Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia title, Hachette Filipacchi's Home, Hearst's O at Home, Time Inc.'s Cottage Living, Meredith's Country Home and Conde Nast's Domino .

Outside the shelter category, 2009 has also seen the closing of Wondertime, Teen, Figure, Hallmark Magazine, Travel & Leisure Golf, Bestlife, Blender, Portfolio, Nickelodeon, and Vibe.

Survey: MRI Tops in Media Research

Buyers of syndicated research gave top marks to Mediamark Research & Intelligence in the fourth annual survey of the research market by Inside Research, a newsletter, and Prevision Corp. -- beating out about 600 other custom quantitative and syndicated research suppliers. MRI ranked first in overall quality, satisfaction, and value in the survey of 270 research customers.

Postal Service Considers Rate Increase

The U.S. Postal Service is still considering whether to raise the rate for First Class stamps from 44 cents to 50 cents, but is unlikely to do this before a number of other cost-saving measures, according to Folio. Among the potential actions are revamping the cost structure for future postal retiree benefits -- especially in healthcare -- and a more focused increase targeting periodicals, which currently only contribute 83% of their postal shipping costs. While that would be good news for consumers, it would be bad news for cash-strapped publishers, which would either have to pass the costs along to consumers or eat the extra expense themselves.

Rumors Circulate About Vogue Makeover

Rumors are circulating that Conde Nast is contemplating a makeover of Vogue, the flagship fashion publication led by Editor in Chief and tastemaker Anna Wintour. The talk of a potential revamp comes not long after it was revealed that Vogue's all-important September issue took a big hit in ad pages, with a one-third decline compared to the same month last year. According to Limelife.com, the rumored makeover could include new models, younger photographers and more variety in editorial content.