As a foodie, I was devastated when Condé Nast dropped the guillotine on Gourmet magazine last fall.
But as a content publisher, my heart really broke when I saw this photo essay. The magazine had been publishing since 1941; it was a huge loss to the industry.
I remember getting my final issue—morbid cover pear and all—turning the pages with extra care, and placing it on my bookshelf of dead magazines. (This bookshelf also holds the final issue of Domino—quite possibly my favorite magazine ever—and the final issues of Jane, Chow, Blueprint, Blender … make it stop!)
Anyway, back to Gourmet. I was thrilled when I learned that the brand was reinventing itself for the iPad. It nearly made up for the loss.
Just think: cooking straight from Gourmet recipes on your iPad? Videos and tutorials on hard-to-make dishes? A searchable dictionary of epicurean goodies? All in one app right on your kitchen counter? GENIUS!
Instantly, I was on the hunt for a recipe-book stand that could hold my iPad. That’s it, I thought. I’m truly embracing this new technology. Perhaps THIS is the way content will be in the future: age-old, trusted brands in a new, interactive, searchable (not to mention usable!), hand-held format.
Then this morning FOLIO broke the news that Gourmet is “clawing its way back out of the grave” by launching (relaunching?) a print edition that will be newsstand-only. And now I just feel like I’m being jerked around. At $10.99, it will be more recipe book than magazine. But still.
I thought Condé Nast had made a solid decision with Gourmet. It sucked to lose the glossy, but I was excited for its rebirth (who said it was in the grave, FOLIO?). I secretly had hopes that Domino and Jane would follow suit (yes, Jane. Give up that crappy XM talk show and bring your snark to my iPad, please).
Besides, who needs another cookbook? What we need is fresh ideas for new content vehicles.
And I think paving the way with trusted and well-respected brands like Gourmet is a good strategy to start. Bring it on!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
does this only apply to recipe-based mags or do you think it applies to all mags?
It’s funny how quickly we can become accustomed to change. But it also should be a lesson to publishers: don’t yank people around, they just want to enjoy your product in peace. Don’t make them work to do so.