Omnivore - Conde Nast to close Gourmet magazine
The nation’s premiere magazine publisher, Conde Nast, will shut down the nation’s premiere food magazine, Gourmet
Whoa! I thought economists were saying we’d hit bottom and were on the way up — and now something like this happens. The NYT just reported that the nation’s premiere magazine publisher, Conde Nast, will shut down the nation’s premiere food magazine, Gourmet.
How big is this news? Well, Gourmet has been around since 1940 and has always had an air of prestige, reflected by its iconic, at times even abstract, cover designs.
And, since 1999, Gourmet has boasted an editor who’s a foodie celebrity in her own right. A former NYT food critic-turned-bestselling author, Ruth Reichl had been seen by many as having updated a magazine that had developed an air of stodginess.
Says the NYT:
The magazine has suffered a severe decline in ad pages, but the cut still comes as a shock. There was speculation that Conde Nast would close one of its food titles — Gourmet or Bon Appetit — but most bets were on the latter. Gourmet has a richer history than Bon Appetit, and its editor Ruth Reichl is powerful in the food world.
On Oct. 17, the Condé Nast title will debut its new public television show, “Gourmet’s Adventures With Ruth,” in which the title’s editor, Ruth Reichl, spans the globe visiting cooking schools with celebs including Frances McDormand and Lorraine Bracco.
Is that show now on or off? Who knows? It’s a sad day.