Sad Story. Sadder Reporting.

I just read this story in The New York Times that Conde Nast is closing three of their magazines...including Gourmet. Sure it's sad news. No one likes losing their jobs. But Stephanie Clifford, who penned the article, didn't do the company any favors with her writing.

The moves are significant for the publisher. It has never been quick to close titles, and in the last year or so has closed only newer titles, Condé Nast Portfolio and Domino, along with folding Men’s Vogue into Vogue.

Who says the moves are significant for the publisher? Clifford? I think this needs to be attributed. Perhaps the cuts are saving a lot of money and keeping them from going under. What does 'significant' mean here anyway?

Condé Nast tends to hold tight to its prestigious titles, making the Gourmet closing all the more startling. In an interview in February, even Paul Jowdy, publisher of the in-house rival Bon Appétit, said that such a closing was unlikely. (To be fair to Mr. Jowdy, the economy has plummeted, and Condé Nast has been hit particularly hard since then. Its magazines have lost more than 8,000 ad pages, excluding its bridal titles, so far this year.)

To be fair to Mr. Jowdy? Is the writer apologizing here? It sounds like Clifford is offering excuses for why the magazines folded. Why couldn't she just find someone credible to talk to about why the magazines were being closed rather than speculate for herself?

“They would never do that,” Mr. Jowdy said in February. “They’re both very important magazines in the culinary world, and they’re very different magazines, and they’re both very healthy. So there’s all these rumors that are just ridiculous. I try not to pay attention to them, but you have to know — if you think of two of the most prestigious, credible, trusted magazines in the industry, you’re going to say Bon Appétit and Gourmet.”

This is a really weird ending to me. Basically Clifford just stuck in a random quote from EIGHT MONTHS AGO showing that EIGHT MONTHS AGO no one thought Gourmet would be cut. Eight months is a long time ago and not even very interesting. I would expect a writer for the NYT would do a better job.