Ven-Views

Okay, Just when I think that the Media World has settled down a little bit. With the exception of the continuous decline in Newspaper readership across the country, Readers Digest announces that they will be seeking to file Chapter 11 and seek Bankruptcy protection. This comes as the latest in a series of debt-laden media companies taken out by the recession and rapidly changing consumer habits. We’re talking about the King of table top publications that peaked three decades ago that sold 18 million copies a month. Circulation is now less than half that.

Under the new plan, Readers Digest will cut it’s debt to about 550,000 million from 2.2 Billion. Ouch. Revenue for many media outlets is dropping fast and pushing newspapers, magazines and Broadcast outlets to seek protection from creditors. The number of ad pages in all consumer magazines slipped nearly 10% between 2006 and 2008, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Ads also fell at newspaper and TV stations.

Readers Digest was founded in 1922 as a collection of condensed articles from a variety of publications and sources. The pocket sized monthly became a money making behemoth, with dozens of versions published overseas. But over time and especially with the emergence of the Internet, more readers went elsewhere and to magazines targeted to special interests such as sports or entertainment. Readers Digest reacted by making editorial changes, and targeted articles aimed for women and celebrity news. Modernization and coping what other new magazines were not enough to stave off the competition on top of changing consumer appetite for faster sources of entertainment and hunger for news.

It’s a toss up whether Readers Digest can survive and still be able to carve out enough ad revenue to keep it alive. My bet is unfortunately, this wonderful collection of the best of the best is just another victim of our pursuit of faster, quicker sources of what we deem as Entertainment. I will miss it when it goes. It’s just another example of literary life treasures such as this becoming a reading enjoyment milestone in memory.