There’s a lot of things going on at Conde Nast, owner of Vogue, GQ, SELF and Vanity Fair. After a few weeks of layoffs (GQ saw six exit not long ago) the publishing house has announced that Details Magazine, the smaller, more European men’s lifestyle book in their stable, would shutter its print edition after the December/January issue. The website for the publication will continue and eventually be transitioned into GQStyle.com.
Though some say the move comes as no surprise as it’s been long rumored that the book would close, that’s what actually makes it surprising. There have been speculations for about 15 years that the magazine would close as it’s struggled to find a voice since bigger books cannabilized the space they were in. In it’s heyday Details was a book targeted at the metrosexual, but now, a majority of men care about their skin and appearance which has brought GQ, Esquire and more into that space.
Reports indicate that Details employs 67 staffers and only 20% of them will find a job elsewhere at Conde Nast. This means that some 55 Conde Nast-trained, experienced editors, writers and designers will be on the search for jobs over the next few months adding to those who have recently been released at GQ, the now closed Lucky Magazine, teams from Gawker-owned sites like Jezebel and more.
While there have been no announcements of Teen Vogue‘s closure (in fact, Conde Nast has released a statement to say the opposite) we’ve been hearing otherwise. Racked published information earlier today indicating that Site Director and former Online Beauty Editor Phillip Picardi would now be reporting to Vogue Site Director Ben Berentson. In addition to this, the report indicated that Teen Vogue‘s online staff would be relocating their offices to the same floor as Vogue. This move follows publisher Jason Wagenheim’s exit from the company.
If this all feels familiar, its because it is. Last year, Conde Nast took the same steps with Style.com before closing the print edition and transitioning it into the Vogue Runway vertical at Vogue. Our intel from editors employed by Teen Vogue indicates the same will happen to the teen book. The structure will resemble that of the publications European counterparts Vogue UK and Miss Vogue. Picardi’s response on Twitter may indicate this is not the case.
It’s quite a harrowing time to be working in the editorial world and looking for a job as now, not only are you competing with fresh college graduates but also experienced editors and reporters. Over the past year we’ve seen former magazine staffers defect to social media, public relations and in-house positions at brands helping to manage editorial content and we expect to see a lot more of that. Keep your eyes peeled.
What do you think about it all? While we won’t say print is dying, what do you foresee being the future of magazines?
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