Stephanie Clifford of the New York Times reports that “the Reader’s Digest Association announced on Monday that it would file for prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for its United States businesses within 30 days.” Though it sounds dire (most of us would be concerned if we were $2.2 billion in debt) the restructuring of the company, with its extensive holdings, will bring its debts down to $550 million. Most of us would be concerned to be in debt by that amount too, but the debtholders taking over the corporation seem to feel its manageable.

The jewel in the corporation’s crown is the revered magazine, Reader’s Digest itself. It will continue operating but at a reduced schedule (10 issues a year instead of 12), a reduced circulation (currently 5.5 million, down from 8 million) and a focus on”socially conservative values,” says Clifford. Here’s the article in full, and here’s a piece we posted a few months ago as this event began unfolding.

RC

Every Blogger owes a debt of gratitude to newspapers and magazines. This posting relies on original research and reporting performed by the New York Times.

How is Reader’s Digest gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen gawker, ew.com, espn.com, and Huffpo? So far, the 87-year-old RD can’t, and its declining fortunes and circulation confirm it. The New York Times‘s Stephanie Clifford points out that “Reader’s Digest is decreasing its circulation to 5.5 million from 8 million and lowering its frequency to 10 times a year from 12.” That’s down from a circulation of 17 million at the height of it popularity.

The rural, middle class Just Folksy readership that fueled the publication’s dominant position in the magazine industry, has gone young, urban, savvy, wired, college educated and – gulp! – liberal. Clifford says that in order to cling to its diminishing base, RD has to give its content and viewpoint a rightward spin. “It’s traditional, conservative values: I love my family, I love my community, I love my church,” Clifford quotes Mary Berner, Reader’s Digest Association’s president and CEO. “The project that signals Reader’s Digest’s future, Ms. Berner said, is a new multifaceted effort produced with Rick Warren, the evangelical pastor, called the Purpose Driven Connection.” Is that conservative enough for you, Mr. and Mrs. Middle America?

Among the behemoth’s holdings are such magazines as Every Day With Rachael Ray and The Family Handyman, which some may think corny. Or, as Berner commented, “They are brands that may not be considered cool by the often elitist and self-absorbed standards of New York media.”

Berner herself seems to have passed muster with the representative of the elitist New York medium that interviewed her: “She had taken a car from Manhattan that morning, and wore a pink wool shirt-dress, patent leather Manolo Blahnik heels, and diamond hoop earrings,” writes Clifford.

You can read about it in Reader’s Digest Searches for a Contemporary Niche.

RC
This posting relies on original research and reporting performed by the New York Times. Every blogger owes a debt of gratitude to newspapers. Without them our free society would not only be impoverished but imperiled. We must strive to find a way to rescue the industry, even if it means nothing more than buying a paper on the street. Support your local newspaper.