MediaBuyerPlanner: Magazines geared toward black women have been struggling in recent years – as niche publications, they are more vulnerable to stagnant newsstand sales, advertisers moving to the web, and other challenges facing the magazine industry in general, writes Mediaweek.
Vibe Vixen, for example, hoped to move from a twice-yearly to a six times yearly magazine. Instead, parent company Vibe Media Group recently announced that the August/September issue would be its last; the title will live on only online and in quarterly special issues.
In spring 2005, Time Inc. axed urban fashion magazine Suede, while Honey was folded two years earlier.
Time Inc.’s Essence gets a disproportionately small amount of fashion advertising considering the amount of money its $1.1 million readers spend on apparel, says Michelle Ebanks, president of the magazine. “If that’s a challenge for us, it’s insurmountable for younger titles.”
Others in the industry point out that the general market has been quicker to embrace minority subjects recently, stealing some of the thunder from niche magazines.
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