Bauer Suspends Publication Of NW And First

New owner Bauer Consumer Media has suspended NW and First Magazines from publication, ahead of next week’s consumer magazines ABC release.

Bauer made the announcement in a statement from Marcus Rich, group managing director Bauer Advertising and Bauer London Lifestyle Magazines.

The company said it would now enter into a month-long period of consultation with editorial staff. The decision will affect 49 editorial staff in total, with 30 on First and 19 on NW. No commercial roles are affected.

The decision has been made by Bauer Consumer Media and not H Bauer, which is a separate business in the UK.

Next week’s issue of First will go on sale Tuesday and the magazine will be suspended thereafter. The April issue of NW will go on sale at the end of this month and will be suspended thereafter.

Emap sold its magazines and radio divisions to Bauer for £1.14 billion in December (see Media In The City: Emap Sells Magazine And Radio Arms To H Bauer).

NW has been steadily dropping in circulation for the past few years. At the last ABCs, the title recorded a large year on year drop in its circulation, of more than 45% year on year, or almost 105,000 copies in real terms, leaving its total figure at around 126,800 (see ABC Results Jan-Jun 2007:Glamour Remains Top Of Women’s Monthly Sector). In January to June 2005, the magazine reported an ABC of 270,686.

In August last year, reports suggested Emap would make First magazine fortnightly before relaunching as a glossy.

First‘s revamp was being overseen by a special project editorial team including new editor Jane Ennis, the Grazia launch editor-in-chief, Fiona McIntosh, and David Davies, the managing director of Emap Elan.

The weekly launched in May 2006 aimed at 30-something women, promising to bring them the real-life stories behind the headlines. However, sales were disappointing, with a circulation of 106,961 in the second half of 2006, much less than the target of 150,000 (see Emap To Relaunch First Magazine).

In the same month, H Bauer’s women’s weekly In The Know closed after less than a year on the newsstand following poor sales (see In The Know Folds After Less Than A Year).

The consumer magazines ABC release for July to December 2007 is released on Thursday 14 February, with NewsLine providing full coverage of all the major sectors, including women’s monthlies and weeklies.

H Bauer: www.bauer.co.uk