CosmoGirl Magazine is closing, a now-ex employee has confirmed to us. Apparently the news came without warning. “We literally found out twenty minutes ago … still processing.” A call to the magazine’s main number just now yielded a chipper, “We’re not talking, thanks, byee!” Developing…
UPDATE The word from Hearst is that it has decided to “consolidate its teen publishing activities into Seventeen,” though the CosmoGirl brand will continue live online at cosmogirl.com. Who will staff that is unclear. Editor-in-chief Susan Schulz will be staying within the company to work on “special projects,” and publisher Vicki Wellington will roll over to the Food Network Magazine, which launches in 2009. You can read the full memo after the jump if you are so inclined.
Hearst Magazines has made a strategic decision to consolidate its teen publishing activities into Seventeen, the largest-selling monthly teen magazine on newsstands. Effective with the December issue, CosmoGirl will cease as a print magazine, remaining online only at cosmogirl.com. CosmoGirl’s subscriber base will be folded into Seventeen.
We are proud of our leadership in the teen category and remain committed to this audience. We will continue to publish Seventeen and its annual Seventeen PROM issue as well as focus on the Hearst Teen Network of websites, which includes Cosmogirl.com, Seventeen.com, Teenmag.com, eSpin.com, MyPromStyle.com, and MisQuinceMag.com. Hearst’s Teen Network of sites ranks in the top 10 trafficked entertainment sites on the Web, according to Comscore.
CosmoGirl’s Editor-in-Chief Susan Schulz will be staying on at Hearst to work on special projects. Publisher Vicki Wellington will become publisher of Food Network Magazine, which officially rolls out in 2009.
