House of Cards

Today I am sad to report that Conde Nast and the powers that be over there have decided to fold Domino magazine. I cannot fully express my disappointment, but I will try.

I read Domino cover to cover. I read over 20 magazines a month, and this is the only one I read TWICE all the way through before I tear one page out of it - and even that is hard to do. (Most) everything they do in the magazine is brilliant. The book that they just published is great as well (see previous entry).

I believe that Conde Nast's foresight is a little skewed. The only thing that would make me feel better about this closure is if they a) showed me their books and really proved to me that closing is a good idea and/or b) they close one of their bridal publications, too.

Bride stuff is ONE day in your life. Domino inspires us to live a better life EVERYDAY. Everyday. Think about that Conde Nast. Don't we all want to do and share and create things that INSPIRE people anymore? I know Conde has gone through some cutbacks lately - no private cars, lavish dinners, no more four star hotels comped...maybe they should have trimmed the fat a little sooner in order to save something that inspires people. Isn't that what they are intending to do anyway? Or is publishing just a way to tell people what they want to hear in order to live an over-the-top life on corporate America?

Don't get me wrong, I love corporate America. But they have done just a few things wrong in the last few months. I digress, again, as usual.

Today I am sad. And the March 2009 issue will be the last of Domino. I hope they bring it back soon. I hope they rethink their decision. I hope a faction of stylish women and adorable gay men cluster outside of Conde Nast HQ in their Moncler weather gear demanding that the Dominoes do not fall down.

Which brings me to something else...maybe they should have given it another name. Don't dominoes always fall down? Maybe this time they should name it something a little more steadfast.

DOMINO update from FashionWeekDaily.com:

The Domino Effect
Condé Nast closes the shelter title, February issue carried only 17 ad pages
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
(NEW YORK) As reported in trade publication WWD, Condé Nast has closed Domino magazine. This news comes merely two weeks after the magazine's publishing activities were handed over to Condé Nast senior vice president Bill Wackermann. The shelter title, published with a frequency of 10 times a year, only carried 17 advertising pages in the February issue, and finished 2008 with 692 ad pages. More details are emerging, but given Condé Nast's hiring freeze, it appears unlikely that the magazine's 47 editorial staffers will be placed at other titles in the company.
UPDATE: Condé Nast CEO Chuck Townsend has weighed in. "This decision to cease publication of the magazine and its website is driven entirely by the economy," he said in a statement. "Although readership and advertising response was encouraging in the early years, we have concluded that this economic market will not support our business expectations." According to Mediaweek, the March issue will be the last one, and editor Deborah Needleman will leave the company--although some staffers are expected to be placed at other Condé titles.