MORT Zuckerman‘s U.S. News & World Report is said to be working on a radical plan to change the magazine’s format and end its years of red ink.
To do that, the magazine plans to begin running at least one “best of” each month, effectively tossing in the towel on any plan to try to compete with Time and Newsweek on news, according to a source.
“The business side has told them it can’t sell news against Time and Newsweek,” said the source.
The magazine has not made any money since the dot-com bubble burst in 2001. While the losses have come down from the reported level of $10 million annually, the title is still believed to be in the red by several million dollars, and the latest move seems to have been ordained by Zuckerman’s determination to stem the losses.
Virtually the only moneymaking issues over the past few years have been its “Best Hospitals,” “Best Colleges” and “Best Grad School” special issues. The Sept. 3 issue added “Best Kids’ Hospitals.”
Asked about the plan, new Editor Brian Kelly conceded, “There is probably some truth to that. We have a couple of things in the works.”
While not confirming all of the magazine’s future plans, Kelly did say the forthcoming issues will probably include a “Best of Cars” guide. “We’ll probably look at consumer products,” he added.
Our source says that staffers, in addition to the above changes, are also cooking up special issues that will include best places to retire, the best-value places to live, the safest cities in America and the best cities for business.
In the first half of 2007, the magazine reported an increase in ad pages to 779, up 5.8 percent from the same period a year ago.
“We’re still in the news business,” Kelly insisted.
R.I.P. 2.0
Some have survived the Business 2.0 wreckage.
The magazine’s long death rattle was silenced when Time Inc. Editor-in-Chief John Huey, a longtime champion of the title, journeyed to San Francisco Wednesday to officially put the magazine to sleep and personally tell the staff.
Among those surviving are longtime Editor Josh Quittner, who will become an executive editor at Fortune. In a rarity, he will get to pen a farewell in the final issue of 2.0.
“One of the things that is kind of interesting is that we’ll be able to say goodbye to our readers,” said Quittner. He said he’ll pen an editor’s note and there will be a group photo as well as pictures of every cover since Time Inc. took over the title in August 2001 from Future Network USA.
He said the shutdown was heartbreaking. “It was very hard not to root for a white knight. When all is said and done, I’m excited about going to Fortune,” Quittner said. “Hopefully they’ll preserve the best of what we’ve done.”
He noted that nine of his staffers will be transferred to Fortune, giving the magazine the largest Silicon Valley bureau of any business magazine.
Eighteen people will lose their jobs although Time Inc. said it is trying to place as many as possible elsewhere in the company.
The nine survivors, in addition to Quittner include Elmer DeWitt, Paul Sloan, Michael Copeland, Todd Woody, Jon Fortt, Yi-Wyn Yen, Lindsay Blakely and Michal Lev-Ram.
Mad Dog
Richard Beckman would probably be called the man behind the curtain except for the fact that he made a brief cameo appearance last night onstage at Radio City Music Hall at Condé Nast’s annual Fashion Rocks celebration.
It is a multimedia extravaganza featuring one-song performances by musical acts including Aerosmith, Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Carrie Underwood, Fergie, Jennifer Lopez and Ludacris.
Earlier this year, Condé Nast was rocked by the unthinkable when a number of its key executives bolted for Readers Digest Association.
The departed included Beckman’s No. 2, Suzanne Grimes, now supervising Everyday With Rachael Ray and other titles.
Beckman, who had the nickname Mad Dog, was famous for being a tenacious and tough boss. Despite the shocking departures, he said he quickly filled them from within.
Amy Churgin is the new No. 2, and Beckman insists his division has historically low turnover. He also said the Condé Nast Media Group is headed for another year of double-digit revenue growth.
Asked if he’s mellowed out over the years, he said, “What do they say, a good wine ages well? I think I’ve aged well.”
Beckman said the Fashion Rocks concert, which is being held as a central event during Fashion Week, is responsible for generating about $50 million in revenue a year.
“About 78 percent of the ad revenue in the company now comes through the corporate sales,” said Beckman. “It speaks a lot to the way companies buy advertising these days. A lot of the buying powers are consolidated, so it makes sense to consolidate the selling as well.