• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, January 8, 2009

Country Home Shutters

The real estate downturn and general recession have claimed another victim in the beleaguered shelter category: Country Home, which Meredith Corp. is shuttering after its March 2009 issue.

The company announced the closure Thursday, along with 250 layoffs, or about 7% of the total workforce of 3,500; only about 40 of these were employed at Country Home. Meredith said it would incur a $16 million special charge to cover severance costs, as well as the expense of relocating ReadyMade and Parents.com to corporate headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa.

Country Home, like most other shelter titles, has been hurting for a few years now, mirroring the sharp decline in the real-estate market. In 2007, its ad pages fell 9.3% to 841, compared to 2006, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. That was followed by a further decline of 24.9% to 631 in 2008, per MIN Online newsletter.

While steep, these declines are hardly remarkable in the category; including domestic and regional lifestyle titles, the category as a whole is down in the double digits. Some prominent examples: in 2008, ad pages fell 17.6% at Better Homes and Gardens, and 20.3% at Ladies' Home Journal, both owned by Meredith; 22.4% at Time Inc.'s Coastal Living; 15.2% at Time Inc.'s Southern Living; 17.7% at Time Inc.'s This Old House; 19.1% at Traditional Home; 12.2% at Dwell; and 11.2% at Hearst's Country Living.

Last year saw the closing of a number of shelter titles, including Hearst's O at Home, Hachette Filipacchi's Home, and Time Inc.'s Cottage Living.

Forbes Lays Off 19

The regular drumbeat of job cuts continued this week with the news that 19 people were being laid off from Forbes Media's editorial operations. This came just two months after it cut 43 employees from its business operations. After many years of operating independently, the print and online businesses are merging. The former editor of the Web site, Paul Maidment, will serve alongside the print editor, Bill Baldwin, as co-editor.

Cookie to Intro More Video Content

Cookie, Conde Nast's parenting magazine that targets hip, well-off young parents, hopes to build Web site traffic and visit durations by introducing more online video in 2009. Among the first video series to hit the Web will be clips promoting its Smart Cookie Awards for mothers engaged in philanthropy. It's also planning to introduce more service content in its video offerings, which give advertisers opportunities for branding and product integration.

MSLO Names Anna Last Editor of Everyday Food

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia hired Anna Last, formerly acting style director for Time Inc.'s Real Simple, to serve as top editor for Everyday Food. Debra Puchalla, who held the top spot at Everyday Food before Last, is moving to a new position as executive editor for MSLO. No word if she would have responsibilities tied to any particular MSLO title.