Since Gourmet folded in early October, Condé Nast has pledged to continue to market the iconic brand. Gourmet’s cookie cookbook is due to come out early next year, and a PBS show, Gourmet’s Adventures with Ruth, is in the middle of a 10-episode run.
That show’s first season is nearly over. So will the Read More
If anything good is going to come out of the decimated print-media world, it will be elegiac newsroom photos from soon-to-be-former employees.
Last year, Martin Gee posted the “Reduction in Force” series—a Flickr archive of of the San Jose Mercury News office as a shadow of its former self. Now, Kevin DeMaria has Read More
Just eight years after Si Newhouse spent tens of millions to move Condé Nast into 4 Times Square, he was ready to move out.
In the first week of October 2007, Mr. Newhouse signed a deal with the real estate developer Douglas Durst to build a new tower for his company over a Read More
John Koblin spoke with Ruth Reichl last night at a posthumous party for Gourmet. In between greeting colleagues and navigating the coat check, she talked about her plans for a book on Conde Nast.
“It’s a very rarefied world,” she said. “It was a world that most people—I had no idea that this Read More
On a very chilly, rainy Thursday night, Ruth Reichl was hugging Dianne Weist on the third floor of the Time Warner Center, at the back of the restaurant A Voce. While embracing, Ms. Weist was removing a bulky winter jacket and a big red scarf. A handler asked Ms. Weist if she was interested in Read More
Tired of clicking around YouTube and iTunes for online videos of substance? Search no more! The Observer has your weekly handy guide to what’s worth watching on the Web.
David Letterman’s scandal on YouTube — Letterman’s love triangle has been playing out online this past week, with old footage of Stephanie Read More
In today’s paper, John Koblin and Gillian Reagan consider the aftermath of Tuesday’s Conde Nast layoffs.
Koblin spoke with CEO Chuck Townsend:
“This was the big news,” said Mr. Townsend. “I don’t think it will be substantially more. It’ll be a trickle.”
But what is meant by “trickle” isn’t Read More
The 180 bodies lost this week at Condé Nast, in the wake of the execution of Gourmet, Cookie and two bridal magazines, comprise the greater part of the damage that we’re going to see out of 4 Times Square, CEO Chuck Townsend told The Observer.
“This was the big news,” said Mr. Townsend. Read More
When Condé Nast chief executive Chuck Townsend announced the deaths of Gourmet, Cookie, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride, he gave hope to readers and staffers alike that some semblance of the magazines might live online. The changes will “enable us to pursue new ventures,” he wrote in his internal memo. “In the coming weeks, we Read More
Much of the outrage over today’s Conde Nast news has focused on the decision to kill Gourmet, a beloved magazine whose Conde competitor, Bon Appetit, had plenty of recipes but less history and prestige.
Corby Kummer of The Atlantic is in shock. The magical thinking has begun:
I refuse to believe Read More
