Can you believe Gourmet is shutting down? Found out at work today when a co-worker sent the below via instant message:
http://mediadecoder.blogs.
Responses I've seen have been succinct:
"Noooooooo."
"Why?"
"Wtf"
Really, it's worse than if Pepsi swallowed Coke or NBC merged with ABC. My food magazine choices will now be limited to Bon Appeptit and smaller publications like Food and Wine and Saveur. Granted, both Gourmet and Bon Appetit are owned by Conde Nast, with the latter beating in circulation by 400,000 issues each month. But who didn't wait in breathless expectation each month to crack open Bon Appetit and Gourmet to decide which magazine had better content.
In the late 1990's, it was definitely Gourmet that boasted more interesting recipes, prettier photos, and more attractive menus. Actually, reading Bon Appetit was like reading a dowdier, more cluttered version of Gourmet. Then, the magazine took Gourmet by storm in January 2008 with a redesign that suddenly made it the more useful, practical, and interesting of the two publications. Even I- among the most die hard Gourmet fans- began gravitating toward Bon Appetit's newly sharp, luscious covers that highlight the details of the featured dish while simultaneously crafting the shot into focus (ancho beefsteak chili with butternut squash, anyone?)... its aptly organized recipe spreads (mix and match Thanksgiving, by course)... and its punchy, entertaining articles (good call on featuring blogger Molly Wizenberg).
Hence, Gourmet became the dowdier version of Bon Appetit. But I really don't understand why Conde Nast would shut the door on a magazine that has accumulated 68 years of brand recognition... surely that is worth more than a few subscriptions? And I'll miss Ruth Reichl's uplifting Letter to the Editor... there's always an anecdote about food, life, enjoying both... hope she keeps signing book deals.
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