• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, January 21, 2016

Oh boy, this is embarrassing – but after devoting a whole blog post to an erroneous report earlier this week, it’s only fair to devote a whole blog post to setting the story straight. So here it is: Penthouse is still publishing its print edition, and has no plans to do away it any time soon.

How did I get it so completely wrong?

Well, in my (scant) defense, everyone else got it wrong, too. The reason being that Penthouse issued one of the most confusing press releases in history. Really. The headline was “Penthouse Goes Digital!” and the release went on to say that owner FriendFinder Networks is closing its New York offices, where the magazine was headquartered, and laying off all the employees there.

There was also much focus on its bright new future on digital. The magazine “will be released in digital format and that future issues of the magazine will be available electronically through subscription.”

This paragraph almost seems crafted to sow confusion as well: “Reimagined for the preferred consumption of content today by consumers, the digital version of Penthouse Magazine will combine and convert everything readers know and love about the print magazine experience to the power of a digital experience – giving people an open-ended reading experience, available anytime, anywhere.”

Finally, there’s this: “Current magazine subscribers will receive notice in the mail providing information on how to add the online version, free of charge, to continue to enjoy all that the Penthouse brand and the magazine has to offer.”

Given that all this sounds exactly like scores of previous announcements from publishers trying to put the best possible light on their decision to shutter print magazines, you can probably see how all of us poor benighted journos and bloggers got “the wrong end of the stick,” as Colonel Peacock would say.

But wrong we were: The company plans to continue publishing the print edition of the skin mag.

And now with your indulgence, gentle readers, I shall draw a curtain over this whole mortifying episode.