Conde Nast Publications

In a year that has seen a veritable logjam of movie musicals, rockumentaries and biopics about famous singers -- and at a time when more such films are being green-lighted every month -- it was bound to come along: a magazine dedicated to the intersection of pop music and moviemaking. Enter Movies Rock, a custom publishing supplement that will be mailed to about 16 million subscribers of 14 Conde Nast magazines -- such as Vanity Fair, Vogue and GQ -- beginning Nov. 1.

Five major publishers -- Conde Nast Publications, Hearst Corp., Meredith Corp., News Corp. and Time Inc. -- announced Tuesday that they would join forces to develop an online storefront to rival Amazon.com Inc. The companies -- which publish such titles as Sports Illustrated, the Wall Street Journal, Better Homes and Gardens, Wired and Vanity Fair -- said their venture would sell newspapers and magazines online but could also be used to sell digital comics and books. As more readers cancel their print subscriptions in favor of browsing stories online, which has led to precipitous drops in advertising revenue, traditional media companies have been frantically experimenting with ways to deliver and make money from digital content.

Jack Kliger, 41, has been named publisher of Glamour magazine. He succeeds E. Louis Holtermann Jr., 60, who has been appointed to the newly created position of director of international marketing for Conde Nast Publications, New York. Kliger previously was publisher of GQ magazine. Michael A. Clinton, 35, the current advertising director of GQ, will succeed Kliger as publisher.

Fortune is embarking on an ambitious redesign of its business magazine, as a vicious advertising slump is forcing the publication to cut the number of issues published and ditch old standbys like CEO covers to become more competitive. Fortune, a publication of Time Inc., said it would publish 18 issues a year, down from 25, starting in January. The changes at Fortune come as other business publications have been under siege. Last week, Bloomberg bought the struggling BusinessWeek magazine for $2 million to $5 million in cash.

Conde Nast Publications plans to halt publication of House & Garden magazine, citing the unexpected departure of Publisher Joseph Lagani last month. The December issue, on newsstands next week, will be the last, New York-based Conde Nast said. The website Houseandgarden.com will also be shut down. House & Garden began publishing in 1901.

Conde Nast to Stop Publishing HG Magazine: Conde Nast Publications said it will cease publication of HG magazine this summer and shift subscribers to Architectural Digest, which it acquired earlier this year. Conde Nast Chairman S.I. Newhouse Jr. said the two magazines have "considerable redundancy."

Los Angeles-based Knapp Communications on Tuesday sold Architectural Digest and Bon Appetit magazines to Conde Nast Publications, owners of Vanity Fair and the New Yorker. Knapp and Conde Nast declined to reveal the selling price, but publishing industry sources said it was about $175 million. Conde Nast beat out three other bidders. Privately owned Knapp Communications put the two magazines on the market last November, after owner Cleon T.

Cargo magazine, a shopping guide for men that was launched by Conde Nast Publications Inc. with much fanfare two years ago, is shutting down with its May issue, the publisher announced. Cargo, which was unveiled on newsstands in March 2004 and marked the biggest launch ever for a men's magazine based on the number of ad pages, hoped to realize the success enjoyed by Conde Nast's women's fashion counterpart, Lucky magazine, and the latest, Domino, a guide for the home.

Fortune is embarking on an ambitious redesign of its business magazine, as a vicious advertising slump is forcing the publication to cut the number of issues published and ditch old standbys like CEO covers to become more competitive. Fortune, a publication of Time Inc., said it would publish 18 issues a year, down from 25, starting in January. The changes at Fortune come as other business publications have been under siege. Last week, Bloomberg bought the struggling BusinessWeek magazine for $2 million to $5 million in cash.

Conde Nast Publications Inc., the second-largest U.S. magazine publisher, cut staff at its Internet network as ad prospects grow less predictable. A spokeswoman declined to say how many people would lose their jobs. The company's CondeNet runs Wired.com, Epicurious.com and Concierge.com, the companion site of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. "We are adjusting all costs to prepare for slower revenue growth," Conde Nast said. The spokeswoman said 2008 revenue would be "slightly" higher than last year.

Two years ago, Conde Nast's Vogue published its biggest issue, an advertising-packed behemoth that symbolized the prosperity of New York's glittering magazine industry as it rode the twin booms in the economy and luxury spending to dramatic heights. Generous expense accounts were de rigueur at glossy fashion and lifestyle magazines. Some top editors and publishers enjoyed clothing allowances and mortgage assistance. Even lowly assistants flitted about in chauffeur-driven town cars.

Conde Nast Publications Inc., the second-largest U.S. magazine publisher, cut staff at its Internet network as ad prospects grow less predictable. A spokeswoman declined to say how many people would lose their jobs. The company's CondeNet runs Wired.com, Epicurious.com and Concierge.com, the companion site of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. "We are adjusting all costs to prepare for slower revenue growth," Conde Nast said. The spokeswoman said 2008 revenue would be "slightly" higher than last year.

Conde Nast Publications plans to halt publication of House & Garden magazine, citing the unexpected departure of Publisher Joseph Lagani last month. The December issue, on newsstands next week, will be the last, New York-based Conde Nast said. The website Houseandgarden.com will also be shut down. House & Garden began publishing in 1901.

In a year that has seen a veritable logjam of movie musicals, rockumentaries and biopics about famous singers -- and at a time when more such films are being green-lighted every month -- it was bound to come along: a magazine dedicated to the intersection of pop music and moviemaking. Enter Movies Rock, a custom publishing supplement that will be mailed to about 16 million subscribers of 14 Conde Nast magazines -- such as Vanity Fair, Vogue and GQ -- beginning Nov. 1.

Cargo magazine, a shopping guide for men that was launched by Conde Nast Publications Inc. with much fanfare two years ago, is shutting down with its May issue, the publisher announced. Cargo, which was unveiled on newsstands in March 2004 and marked the biggest launch ever for a men's magazine based on the number of ad pages, hoped to realize the success enjoyed by Conde Nast's women's fashion counterpart, Lucky magazine, and the latest, Domino, a guide for the home.

MANY of us have wondered whether Conde Nast, whose magazines (including Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ) so glossily reflect all manner of adult obsessions, would ever launch a publication on one of the biggest adult obsessions of them all: kids. And now it's happened: Cookie has just hit the stands.

Conde Nast Publications said Monday that it would boost the guaranteed circulation for its shopping magazine, Lucky, to 1 million, just as rival Hearst Magazines prepares to launch its own glossy dedicated to the joys of hitting the shopping mall. Lucky, whose pages are chock full of products such as shoes, make-up and handbags but hardly any articles, is considered one of the most successful magazine launches in recent memory, with circulation up sharply since its December 2000 launch.

Walt Disney Co. has agreed to sell its Fairchild Publications unit to Conde Nast Publications Inc. for about $650 million, a person familiar with the deal said Friday. The decision to sell Fairchild, which publishes titles such as Women's Wear Daily, the fashion industry trade publication, as well as Jane and W magazines, comes as Disney Chairman Michael Eisner has been under pressure to jump-start the company's lagging stock and earnings.

A New York magazine editor testified Wednesday that Roman Polanski made "tasteless and vulgar" advances to a woman at a Manhattan restaurant shortly after the death of his wife, Sharon Tate. Testifying in London in Polanski's libel lawsuit against publisher Conde Nast, Lewis Lapham, editor of Harper's magazine, confirmed that he was the source of an anecdote related in a 2002 article in Vanity Fair magazine.

Mia Farrow defended film director Roman Polanski in his libel trial Tuesday, denying a claim by Vanity Fair magazine that he tried to seduce a woman days after his wife's brutal murder. Polanski is suing Conde Nast, the magazine's publisher, over a 2002 article that said he seduced a woman at a New York City restaurant while on his way to the funeral of his wife, Sharon Tate. Tate, who was pregnant, was killed by followers of serial killer Charles Manson in Los Angeles in August 1969.