A trading statement from Future reports revenues that are declining faster than expected, and the Blessed Stevie makes the ultimate sacrifice – she’s going to fire a whole load of people on both sides of the Atlantic. No news on what her pay rise is going to be this year.
So what now for Future’s titles? Which are they going to decide are rooted in the past and have to be ‘recalibrated’ (Stevie’s new euphemism for ‘sacking people’).
A strong rumour has it that PC Format (2010 ABC 9,318, down 21% yoy) is looking down the barrel, but there are several more which seem to have been on life support for some time. In technology, you can take your choice from What Laptop (6,585, down 20%), Computer Arts Projects (6,647 down 20%) and PC Plus (13,727, down 21%) all of which would seem to be long overdue a ‘reorganisation’. Motoring has my perennial favourite Fast Car (19,004 down 27%), Redline (9,623 down 26%), plus the almost utterly pointless Fast Ford and Total Vauxhall; and the music magazines contains three guitar titles, all of which are losing sales.
Gossip from Future should be directed towards private.frazer@hotmail.co.uk and watch this space.
