Last week, Hearst shuttered CosmoGIRL!, one of the last remaining teen girl magazines left on the newsstands. ELLEgirl and Teen People closed in 2006, and with CG! gone, only Conde Nast's Teen Vogue and Hearst's Seventeen are left to fill the category. Which is why, when Hearst announced CG!'s end, they said they'd move as many staffers as they could to Seventeen. Except as we told you yesterday, approximately zero staffers were being offered new gigs at Ann Shoket's magazine.
That's because Hearst is offering all but the most paltry assistance to CG! refugees. Just how paltry? CONTINUED »
When Jossip broke news last week that Hearst was shuttering teen rag CosmoGIRL!, the publishing company quickly released a statement and assured onlookers that staffers who would lose their magazine would be "transitioned" to Seventeen, Hearst's other teen mag. Except the only ones being transitioned to Seventeen are readers. Staffers, meanwhile, find themselves without gigs — which is fitting, since Seventeen is already, you know, staffed up. "NO ONE is going to Seventeen from CosmoGIRL!," says a source. "In fact, Hearst isn't helping the staffers at all with new jobs."
So, then, what's the total body count? "As for the big secret about how many people got laid off, count the masthead and subtract out Susan [Schulz, editor-in-chief], Vicki [Vicki Wellington, publisher, who's already been named publisher of Food Network Magazine], and web [staffers]."
Then again: CONTINUED »
As dozens of CosmoGIRL! staffers suddenly find themselves without jobs after today's shuttering — or being "transitioned" into gigs at Seventeen, which Hearst will probably make them re-apply for — it's worth remembering that this office was the same one cheering when competitors like Teen People (July 2006) and ELLEgirl (April 2006) folded.
A knowledgeable insider who worked in the teen category at the time tells us that some, but not all, CosmoGIRL! staffers "danced in the hallways" when they saw these magazines fold. Which, on the one hand, makes sense: Down with the competition! But also, mags like Teen People and ELLEgirl didn't fold because they were terrible magazines (or only because), but because the category was crumbling.
And that isn't exactly something staffers at CosmoGIRL!, which relied on those same advertising dollars and tween readers, should have been dancing the Macarena about.
Rather, they should have been panicking, since the shuttering of your peers "is a clear indication that your shared audience is shrinking and you could very well be next." All that said, we're assured editor-in-chief Susan Schulz did not lead the rally cries.
We continue to pour one out for our CosmoGIRL! homies: the zine covering the teen beat will definitely be closing after their December issue. Even though their title is terribly annoying to write (don't use exclamations unless you really mean them!) the world will be a little less helpful in giving you the top ten ways to prep for prom w/out CosmoGirl!
Started as a teen spin-off of Cosmopolitan (duh) in 1999, CosmoGirl! fit snuggle into the gaping wound that Sassy left behind when it went to the snarky catalog in the sky in 1994. Whereas Sassy was accredited with finding Chloe Sevigny and making grunge look sheik, CosmoGirl! found its niche with a more giggly 2.0 version of it's parent company. Instead of sex tips and ten ways to please your man, CosmoGirl! gave advice to teens worried about sex and had Scarlett Johansson spout her political nonsense all over their pages.
Looking forward: Is there anything left in the magazine industry for HS girls? CONTINUED »
JOSSIP REPORTS — That's the word we're hearing from inside Hearst. Blame the economy. Blame Susan Schulz. (Or blame Cathie Black.) Blame Friday. Who knows more? We're waiting on official word, but we're going to guess CosmoGIRL!'s shuttering has something to do with the "marketplace" and "advertising climate."
Worth noting: When other teen girl mags folded, like ELLEgirl in 2006, know who was the first office to celebrate? CosmoGIRL!'s. Something about bitchin' karma?
