Rupert Murdoch to Close News International Magazine Division
Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper group, News International, announced that it will be closing its magazine division. A company spokesperson in the UK said ”We will disengage from the magazine business. It will allow us to focus on our core business as the U.K.’s largest national news publisher.”
The magazines in question under the News International umbrella are, Love It, the Sunday Times Travel and Skymag. Love It we know will be sold and there are talks of what will become of the others.
The closing of the consumer magazine division seems to be a decision long in the making, as revenue numbers for this group have lagged for quite some time. Earlier this week, London magazine Media Week reported that News Internationals magazine division had made a loss of 9.7 million pounds, or $18.9 million, in the year to June 2007.
It is uncertain what will happen to the divisions 80 employees, of which 35 of them are editorial staff. However, this story goes to show that the structural, staffing and circulation changes are not unique to any geo.
