Re: Was: gator/countryliving gardener; Now: Trends

**"Doreen Howard" d*@ticon.net**

Brook Elliot wrote:
> I wonder how much of it is indirect economics. I've been writing for them
for
> a couple of years, now, and it always seemed to me---given their low level
of
> promotion and  sales effort---that Yankee uses Gardener's Companion as a
> money pit. When things are going well (which is often, for Yankee), they
push GC
> as a place to dump excess cash. Then, when things slow down at Yankee,
they
> pull in their horns at the Companion.

Not true.  The magazine Yankee is the money loser in the group, and Old
Farmer's Almanac and the Gardeners Companion are the revenue generators.
What is happening currently is a mirror of what is going on in the industry.

> I've heard on the grapevine, btw, that the "back to an annual" plan may be
on
> hold, and they're now looking at either going biannual or retaining it as
a
> quarterly.

As of this morning, Gardeners Companion plans to publish two issues in 2004.
There are NO plans for quarterly issues as the subscription base never
built.  At two issues, the magazine generates strong profits from what
subscribers there are and from newsstand sales.  BTW, GC is a strong seller
in Canada and the northern tier of US states.

The point of this back and forth dialogue is that the number of issues seems
to be declining in the industry.  Accountants tell me that a bi-monthly
magazine, versus a monthly one, generates more profits, as the editorial and
production costs are much less.
Doreen Howard

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