• by Erik Sass , February 8, 2008

Citing environmental concerns and profitability, Wal-Mart is poised to dump almost 1,000 magazines from its newsstands, in what could be a major blow for some of the publications involved. Wal-Mart is said to account for fully 15% of retail magazine sales in the United States.

Most of the titles getting cut are quite small, such as Arkansas Bride, Giant Robot, Kittens USA, Redneck World and Star Trek Communicator. And a number of already defunct magazines appeared on the list of titles to be purged, including Teen People and Elle Girl. (The New York Post briefly posted the titles.)

But big, current titles are also getting the chop. Among others, the purge will affect BusinessWeek, Cookie, Home, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Spin, Travel & Leisure and Wondertime. Also getting dumped are Automobile, Billboard, Food & Wine, Flying, Guideposts, the Harvard Business Review, Metropolitan Home, the National Review, The New Yorker, Sailing, Saveur and Town & Country.

A number of popular personal health and fitness titles are also being eliminated, including Arthritis Today, Diabetes Forecast, Fitness and Psychology Today.

It appears that the decision was made by the company's "sustainability committee," which is responsible for keeping Wal-Mart attuned to "green" issues and practices. But it no doubt received input from accountants at wholesale distributors like Anderson News, which has a representative on the committee.

Over the last year, Anderson and other wholesalers have complained that carrying some titles is no longer profitable, putting pressure on many to raise their newsstand prices. During the last six months, this has prompted a number of celebrity weeklies to raise their newsstand prices significantly. However, simply dropping unprofitable titles, a la Wal-Mart, may be an even more effective way to address the problem.

Vanity Fair Cancels Academy Awards Party

Despite rumors that the writers' strike may be resolved as early as next week, Vanity Fair is canceling its annual Academy Awards Show gala as a show of sympathy with the striking writers. The news is a major blow for the awards show, for which the Vanity Fair party has traditionally provided much of the glitz and glamour. In an official statement, the publication said: "After much consideration, and in support of the writers and everyone else affected by this strike, we have decided that this is not the appropriate year to hold our annual Oscar party. We want to congratulate all of this year's nominees, and we look forward to hosting our 15th Oscar party next year." Even if the strike has ended by showtime, the magazine does not plan to revive the party.

Industry Standard Returns As Online Mag

Rumors of its reprise were somewhat exaggerated: the Industry Standard is returning to publication, although only as an online mag, according to publisher IDG. It's a fitting return for the magazine, which was founded to track the vagaries of the volatile "Web 1.0" market--then went bust when the bubble burst. In its newer, more modest form, IS receives short-form content from 50 journalists and bloggers, with a full-time staff of five. An innovative community feature allows registered users to bet "play money" on the likelihood of particular events in online commerce and the economy overall.

Lagardere Hires Publicitas

Lagardere, the owner of Hachette Filipacchi, has selected Publicitas North America to handle promotional and business development duties for a number of big titles, including the Elle Network, representing magazines in 38 countries, as well as French publications like Paris Match and the Air France in-flight magazine. PNA will promote Lagardere's various cross-media offerings, including integration of digital media with print, radio, and TV.

Craft Gets Barseghian as EIC

Craft has named Tina Barseghian as its new editor in chief. Barseghian, a writer and editor with 15 years of experience, has covered travel, lifestyle, arts and culture for publications including The San Francisco Chronicle and ReadyMade. She remarked: "Craft is a magazine with a lot of buzz, and best of all, it's so refreshingly different from other titles in the category."

Neil Goldstein Moves to Maxim

Neil Goldstein is leaving Bauer Publishing's Life & Style after a year for Alpha Media Group, where he will serve as associate publisher of Maxim. He takes up his new role on Feb. 28. At Maxim, he will take the post previously held by Steve DeLuca, who left to join Conde Nast's Traveler.

BusinessWeek Names Sibley Worldwide Publisher

Jessica Sibley has been appointed senior vice president and worldwide publisher for BusinessWeek magazine. In her new role, she will be responsible for integrated ad sales including the Web site, mobile, video, and television. Previously, Sibley worked for The Wall Street Journal as vice president of multimedia sales for the Northeast and Europe.