McClatchy Media Company, parent of Soap Opera Digest, announced on Friday it will shutter four of its newly acquired lifestyle and entertainment print magazine brands, including In Touch, Life & Style, Closer and First for Women.
“Despite the best efforts of many of our talented colleagues, we have been unable to develop a profitable business model for four of our magazine titles,” McClatchy spokesperson Julie Pendley said in a statement released to The Hollywood Reporter, noting the final issues for each of the magazines will be published between June 20 and 27, dependent on their regular publishing schedule.
“We are grateful for the meaningful contributions of the affected employees and are providing support during the transition,” Pendley continued, revealing that each of the magazine’s entire staff would be laid off as a result. The number of employees impacted was not known at press time.
The news comes as the media landscape continues to experience uncertainty, including recent reports that publisher Business Insider would be laying off at least 21% of its workforce, citing a pivot to AI-infused content in an era where readers rely on social platforms like TikTok for the latest news.
While McClatchy is shuttering the aforementioned publications, there are currently no plans to do the same for the more well-known brand, Us Weekly.
According to an unnamed source speaking with THR, the brand was “always the star” in the landscape of glossy celebrity tabloids previously owned by a360media before its merger with McClatchy last December.
“It’s very expensive to do print these days,” said the THR source on the closures, adding, “The numbers are continuously down though there still is value in these brand names so it’s still possible that someone could purchase them and keep them alive.”
Although the magazines will cease publishing next month, it’s unknown what the company plans to do with their online presence, each of which sees millions of followers across all relevant social media platforms.
On Thursday, May 29, McClatchy formally integrated the Soaps In Depth website with the Soap Opera Digest website, officially marking the end of the former as a standalone brand after 28 years. Before that, the print edition of Soaps In Depth was shuttered in April 2020 under its prior owner, Bauer Media, with the final issue of the ABC and CBS editions released in May 2020. The final print edition of Soap Opera Digest was released in November 2023.