Folio: for sale: As blogged earlier, Primedia today announced that the magazines Folio:, Circulation Management and American Demographics were “discontinued operations” in search of a “strategic partnership.” Running those terms through Google’s MBA-to-English translation tool reveals they mean, “for sale.” At least that’s what’s being said in e-mail I’m receiving from, as they say, “people close to the situation.”

Rafat Ali has obtained the internal e-mail sent to Primedia employees and has posted it on PaidContent.org.

Excerpt:

“Today, as part of the second quarter earnings release, PRIMEDIA will be announcing that we are evaluating strategic partnerships regarding three Primedia Business properties: Folio:, Circulation Management and American Demographics. Securities laws require us to disclose these discussions even though they haven’t concluded; but we expect that we can give you more specific information about the nature of the potential partnerships shortly. These discussions affect no other PRIMEDIA business property.

From e-mails I’ve received from individuals “close to” the publications affected, there was little explanation given internally until the story started appearing elsewhere. For example, it was not until late this afternoon that the employees were told definitively that the properties were for sale and not being shut down. There is still (6 p.m. est) no story on the Folio: website. Earlier, M10 Report, the magazine industry trade publication-website whose editor-publisher, Tony Silber, is a former Folio: editor-publisher, sent an e-mail alert regarding the Primedia press release but has yet to report anything on its site, as well.

First blog: The Onion “reports” the CIA has asked the president to stop blogging. Funny.

Quote:

Members of Bush’s re-election team have urged the president to exercise caution with his blog, perhaps because of posts like the one dated July 8, 2004: “Another long day of speeches and fundraisers. Met with all these phony media company execs. Had to promise them some bill next term and shake a lot of stupid hands, but they did bring in two or three million or so. Whatever. Karl keeps a list. I got big laughs during my speech, so I’m happy.” Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie said he spoke to Bush about the blog last month. “After he mentioned our Monday message-of-the-day in a Saturday post, we’ve really been pushing him to not talk about campaign strategy,” Gillespie said. “He’s not that involved in the planning anyway, so it shouldn’t be too much to ask….We’re not trying to stifle the president’s creativity,” Gillespie added. “We think it’s great he’s taking an interest in writing.” Bush maintained that he’s doing nothing wrong.

(via Steve Rubel)

Discontinued? According to its earnings press release, Primedia is evaluating strategic partnerships regarding the Folio, Circulation Management and American Demographics properties. According to the release, “The operating results of these businesses have been classified as discontinued operations.” While I know the use of the phrase “discontinued operations” is a strategy to improve reported EBITDA, it is unclear what this means regarding these publications/web properties. Developing.

How magazines get started (continued): Recently, I broke down the formula for how a local newspaper profiles the launch of a new magazine in its area. Earlier this week, I showed how a newspaper in Arizona used the formula to profile a magazine there. Today community newspaper in Texas uses the formula to profile someone trying to raise $3 million for a “can’t fail” vaporzine.

Deserving of one-another: I know that ESPN.com must really hate it when they have to write a story based on an interview someone gives to SI.com, but still, this was too good to pass up. Drug-fan (hey, it’s just a plant) and former NFL running back Ricky Williams wants to play for the Raiders one day.

Quote:

(Williams said his) quirky personality would be welcomed by Raider Nation — “crazy fans who would expect a weirdo,” he said.

I promise, this post is not directed at any one reader of the rexblog who happens to be a Raiders fan.

(Thanks, Eddie Rider)

Plenty of warning: The NY Times’ David Carr follows-up an earlier report regarding an Arts vaporzine (currently unnamed) being developed by Conde Nast for a launch in 2006.

Quote:

But at a time when The New Yorker has more than a million readers and is contributing actual profits to the coffers of Condé Nast, Mr. Truman said that it might be a good time for a magazine that gives Gauguin — and his more contemporary cohort — the Nicole Kidman treatment. “What Condé Nast magazines do best is to democratize sophisticated, aristocratic tastes,” Mr. Truman said. “That is what Vogue does, what Lucky does, what Gourmet and GQ do.” The prototype shows a magazine focused on art, sculpture, architecture and photography. It includes a series of articles — “curated stories” is what Mr. Truman calls them — that aim a lens at specific themes or artists. A feature article, “Art Imitates Love,” includes lavish spreads of artistic representations of romantic love, with work from the photographer Nan Goldin and the painter John Currin. And the work of new artists appears as short inflection points throughout the magazine.

I would like to be on record as saying the brilliant folks at Conde Nast can pull this off…and perhaps are the only people in the magazine world who can.

Please the reader? What a concept: While magazines in America may be merely rebounding, according to this article, in China, magazines are booming.

Quote:

Last year, media advertising revenues raked in over $13 billion, a 20 percent rise year-on-year. Publishing reforms means magazines no longer have to please for the leader but the reader.

I’m guessing the article suffered from translation into english. I think what they were trying to say was something about learning how to please the advertiser by undertaking more research initiatives and marketing campaigns designed to better sell the effectiveness of the medium.

The sun’ll come up, tomorrow, bet’chur bottom dollar: MediaPost’s Michael Shields reports the upbeat magazine industry forecast issued by Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

Quote:

“…this recovery will be more gradual than those in the past. Magazine advertising growth is not expected to surpass gross domestic product (GDP) growth until 2005. (In the past it has been typical for magazine ad spending to outpace the GDP’s growth). And this growth will be less potent than what followed the 1991 recession, as a result of the evaporation of dot-com and technology ad dollars and an increasingly competitive ad market. As part of its justification for portraying a brighter future for the magazine business, VSS credits the industry for undertaking research initiatives and marketing campaigns designed to better sell the effectiveness of the medium. In addition, publishers’ increasing openness to pursuing ad opportunities that go beyond straight insertions has helped.