Monday, October 5, 2009
Adieu, Gourmet
I'm trying to feel sad about the news that Gourmet is shutting down. There was a time when I really enjoyed that magazine, but, truth be told, that time ended a long time ago. I subscribed up until a year ago and when my subscription lapsed, I didn't really feel too badly. The magazine was, what's the word, boring. Sure there were usually one or two recipes that interested me -- a ten minute meal or something to bake -- but I never read anything in it. And, the fancy stuff was all too fancy and the everyday stuff almost too everyday. Maybe it's just that the damn thing was so, you know, tasteful. To me it felt like the magazine lost its heart and found nothing to replace it. And now, nothing will.
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2 comments:
robin, i totally agree. i respect the history but for at least the last couple of years it seemed like a joyless and self-important magazine.
i do, however, use Epicurious religiously -- i barely use my cookbooks anymore -- and would happily pay money for it. you think they'll eventually ask me to? i'm fearful that conde nast has no clue how to use the Internet and is willfully annoucing IT'S NOT OUR CORE BUSINESS -- dude, if your business is media, the internet IS your core business. there's gonna be less and less distinction between print and online. and i'm willing to pay you for good content in either form! if you organized the content in traveler/concierge.com in a decent way, i'd pay for that, too!
but of course i'm so sorry for everyone who lost his or her job today.
and i'm scared to see how everything will shake out in the terrifying brave new world of media.
Yes, I'm sorry for the job losses, too. And while I still love my cookbooks I'm also a big epicurious fan. But I fear that Conde Nast has no clue how to aggregate and organize and even charge for its content online. Granted, I'm not sure anyone has figured this one out, but it was easier for them to think about their fancy pants new building, I guess, than the role of the web in media life. Of course, The New Yorker web site is great, but it's a whole different category from the service material that people use day in and day out.
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