Low advertising sales contributed to the Jan. 26 folding of Madison's alternative weekly publication, coreweekly, former freelance writers said this past the weekend.
Capital Newspapers Inc., which owned coreweekly, declined to comment. Iowa-based Lee Enterprises, which owns half of CNI, was unavailable for comment. Yet according to several former coreweekly employees and media observers, the magazine folded because it was not meeting advertising standards.
Rick Tvedt, editor of the entertainment weekly, Rick's Caf??, said he was not surprised by coreweekly's decline.
'These types of faux alt-weeklies are popping up all over the country, but I think their target audience sniffs them out pretty quickly,' Tvedt said. 'My guess is that they don't hold up real well because the heart and intent aren't there.'
All CNI employees received an e-mail from the company Dec. 20 announcing a 'voluntary leave program.' The program was an invitation to employees to take leaves of absence and was launched by CNI in an attempt to cut costs. According to the e-mail, earnings had fallen short for the previous fiscal year.
Newspaper subscriptions are in decline across the United States, including the CNI-owned Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times.
The magazine was not a financial powerhouse. As a startup publication, coreweekly struggled to establish a consistent position in the Madison market. Free weeklies such as Isthmus, Rick's Caf?? and Wisconsin Sports Weekly were all established names when coreweekly began.
Marc Eisen, editor of Isthmus, said Coreweekly was little more than a tool for CNI.
'Core was essentially an advertising product,' Eisen said. 'It was driven by the need to capture a lucrative niche advertising market.'
According to Eisen, a magazine founded only to make money is destined to fail.
'Most good publications start with an editorial idea,' he said. 'But core didn't begin that way.'
Former coreweekly freelancer Adam Bissen said the magazine's broad editorial style was not always cohesive, but that those in charge at coreweekly were dedicated to the magazine.
Bissen said he was 'astounded' when he learned the magazine was shutting down last Thursday.
'We were really catching our stride toward the end,' he said. 'I had no reason to see it coming,'
It is now apparent that things were not OK, and while the specific reasons for the magazine's folding remain unclear, coreweekly employees are now in search of work.
'Newspapers are owned by companies, and companies make decisions,' Bissen said. 'I've got to play by those rules.'
Meanwhile, independents like Isthmus and Rick's Caf?? are wondering what CNI's next move will be.
'Their corporate strategy is to dominate all print media in south-central Wisconsin,' Eisen said. 'It's a good strategy.'
