2013 – The year in magazines

In February, luxury fashion magazines 10 and 10 Men launch. The publications are produced by editor Alison Veness-McGourty formerly of Harpers Bazaar and Grazia, with associate editor Rebecca Khoury. The titles are based on a UK magazine of the same name.

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Time To Road Australia, a free travel magazine launches catering to the Australian recreational vehicle market. The title is an independent venture developed by Phillip Terry who teams with journalist Rod Bruem as editor.

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Industry body Magazine Publishers of Australia (MPA) launches its first marketing campaign under new boss Robin Parkes. The campaign signals a relaunch of the organisation using the slogan “Magazines Move Me”. The campaign – created in-house by Bauer Media’s creative director – advertising, Carolyn Innis – includes ads on the themes of “lust”, “want” and “desire”.

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Popular science magazine Cosmos changes hands with Luna Media selling the print, online and iPad brand to a couple of Melbourne scientists. Dr Alan Finkel and his wife Dr Elizabeth Finkel acquire the nine-year old title in a move that sees the publisher’s advertising and editorial operations move from Sydney to Melbourne.

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Hours after refusing to comment on speculation that Grazia magazine will close, Bauer Media announces it is shutting the title with the final edition hitting the newsstand two weeks later. The company blames “market dynamics” for the demise of the title.

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NewsLifeMedia’s Gardening Australia magazine announces it will relaunch. The move is part of the plan to bring the magazine closer to the publication’s ABC1 TV program namesake. Publisher Nick Smith says the relaunch is a response to falling circulation and is scheduled for April.

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Bauer Media appoints former News Limited sales supremo Tony Kendall as its new director of sales. Kendall has spent 23 years in senior roles at News Limited in Melbourne, Sydney and New York, as well as a year as CEO of News Magazines. He left company last November. Kendall replaces Leigh Monti who is leaving the role after just five months in the job.

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Justine Cullen is named as the new editor of Bauer Media’s forthcoming title Elle. Cullen was previously the editor of another title in the publisher’s stable, Shop Til You Drop.

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Robyn Foyster, publisher of Bauer Media magazines Woman’s Day, Cosmopolitan, Madison and Harper’s Bazaar departs. In November, Foyster announces the launch of online publication The Carousel.

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In March, former Vogue editor Kirstie Clements tells Encore that magazine creativity has been hit by the increasing influence of agencies attempting to “wring the sponge dry”. During the promotional tour for her book The Vogue Factor, Clements says the sales and editorial “church and state” stance is a thing of the past. She says: “Money is always the key to everything. It was gradual. Every day you drew a new line in the sand.”

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Damien Woolnough, former fashion editor for The Australian joins the soon-to-be launched Elle Australia magazine as deputy editor.

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The custom publishing arm of Pacific Magazines, Pacific+ launches a new bi-annual mens magazine, The Iconic Men’s Magazine. The title covers culture, fashion and retail and follows the success of the The Iconic, a title targeted at women.

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In April, Bauer announces it will close fashion magazine Madison. The June edition will be its last.

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Bauer then launches its first title since acquiring ACP Magazines, monthly science magazine World Of Knowledge. Former Zoo and Top Gear journalist Vince Jackson is the editor.

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Former Daily Telegraph showbiz writer Matt Frilingos is named as the new editor of Pacific Magazines’ celebrity title Famous with Amy Sinclair departing after a year in the role. Frilingos has been with Famous since it launched in 2006 and prior to that worked on The Daily Telegraph in Sydney including a stint on Sydney Confidential.

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Bauer Media’s Cleo magazine relaunches with new editor Sharri Markson at the helm. The women’s magazine heads in a new direction which sees more fashion and lifestyle and less sexual content on the cover.

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NewsLifeMedia announces it will launch Taste as a monthly magazine title. The brand taste.com.au already exists as a recipe website and app. The first issue is due to go on sale in September.

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Blitz Publications rebrands its bi-monthly mixed martial arts magazine Inside MMA to Fight! Australia. The rebranding includes a name change, a redesign of the magazine’s layout, and a further push into online content.

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In May, gay and lesbian publisher Evolution Publishing, which publishes titles such as SX, Melbourne Community Voice, Blaze, Queensland Pride, Cult magazine and the gaynewsnetwork.com.au, is be wound up with the Federal Court appointing a liquidator for the company.

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New Philosopher, Australia’s first philosophy magazine for the general public turns to crowd funding to fund its proposed launch.

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MasterChef transfers its publishing allegiances from NewsLifeMedia to Bauer with the launch of a new series of recipe titles. MasterChef Collectibles goes on sale June 24 to coincide with the launch of MasterChef season five. It is a three-part series that focuses on recipes from past and present contestants, guest chefs and kitchen tips and tricks.

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ABC youth radio station Triple J’s magazine closes its bi-monthly publication after News Limited’s custom publishing arm News Custom, shuts its Melbourne office. The Triple J Annual will continue to publish.

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Inside Mining, a new monthly magazine targeting “fly-in-fly-out” miners and people working in the mining industry launches. It is to be distributed on seven airlines including Rex, Alliance Airlines, Airnorth and Skytrans, which service Australia’s mining communities.

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Bauer Media takes full ownership of the Australian and New Zealand editions of OK! magazine. The publication was previously co-owned by Northern and Shell, which originally published the weekly magazine from 2004 to 2007. Bauer Media purchased a 50 per cent stake in the publication in 2007.

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Another magazine turns to crowdfunding to source its launch. Football culture magazine Thin White Line is set to kick off in August. A limited edition of the title is circulated among potential sponsors and the media, while the campaign video featuring TV presenter George Donikian calls on football fans to pledge their support.

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In August News Limited’s food magazine for Woolworths, Australian Good Taste, ceases publication. The move comes seven months after News Limited’s lifestyle arm NewsLifeMedia announced the closure of MasterChef Magazine.

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Kelly Healy, Bauer Media’s Queensland director of sales follows her former colleague Louise Barrett out the door to Channel Ten.

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It is reported that magazine publisher Bauer Media is making 30 positions in its advertising department redundant. The company also sells two more magazines, tech titles APC and TechLife which move to Future Publishing.

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Bauer tells staff it plans to merge the teams on magazines Cleo and Dolly. Lucy Cousins, former Women’s Fitness deputy editor, is appointed editor-in-chief for the newly created young women’s lifestyle division.

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Food blogger Allie Gaunt reveals plans to launch One Handed Cooks, a food magazine aimed at parents who don’t have enough time to cook.

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Rolling Stone Australia leaves the Bauer Media stable with editor-in-chief Matthew Coyte stepping up as an independent publisher, potentially saving the historic title from the chopping block. The first issue published by Coyte’s company Paper Riot Pty Ltd hits news stands in December.

This post comes from the Encore & mUmBRELLA Annual available on iPad and iPhone.

Download it from encore.com.au