Knock knock… yoohoo… Golf Digest… Golf World… over here.
There are hundreds of thousands of golfers just getting word that their favorite golf magazine is ceasing publication. Your sister magazine, I might add. No word of it on your sites except for the standard press release that’s practically buried? Did you know the subscription link for Golf For Women is still live on your sites?
These other Condé Nast publications, Golf Digest and Golf World do a fair job covering female players and topics important to women. Now they should be stepping up to do even more and provide a foster home for displaced readers. But where’s the love?
We still don’t know the fate of the Golf For Women website, so we still may have that online refuge, but I would have thought GD and GW would have been reporting this news and attempting to comfort us with word on their plans to accommodate GFW’s subscribers.
Susan Reed’s farewell message indicated that GFW would be transferring subscriptions to other Condé Nast publications, and I imagine many people will choose Golf Digest or Golf World if they don’t already subscribe. Shouldn’t those publications be doing something to ensure that? Looks like Jerry Tarde is tardy with his “hello message” assignment from Golf Digest. Same for Geoff Russell over at Golf World. Or don’t they want all these potential eyes? I bet their advertisers do, and if they don’t care about that, perhaps they’re next on the list to fold.
With the timing of the closure coming on the heels of Susan Reed’s departure to O Magazine, it appears that Condé Nast just couldn’t be bothered to replace her and keep it going, indicating some apathy toward a burgeoning demographic. The economic downturn can be cited as a reason, but then wouldn’t they at least want to secure the readers they had at other Condé Nast publications or are those magazines successful enough without us? Or do they just think we’ll flock to them with nowhere else to go? Someone will step in and fill the void that GFW leaves for an entire segment of golf magazine readers but come on, guys, show us that you care.
My editor from their website still isn’t sure what’s going to happen with their online presence so there could still be some life there.