Vogue won’t adapt to changing times

Vogue, considered by many to be the world’s most influential fashion magazine, yet, ad sales for the magazine are in massive freefall. They’re dramatically downsizing Men’s Vogue and now, they’re putting their famous charity event, Fashion Rocks, on hold.

“Due to the toughness in the ad market, we have decided to put both ‘Fashion Rocks’ and ‘Movies Rock’ on hiatus for 2009,” Richard Beckman, president of the Conde Nast Media Group, said in a statement through his spokeswoman. 

Since it started in 2003, Fashion Rocks evolved into a highly polished, very extravagant annual variety show at Radio City Music Hall in New York, including a CBS broadcast and the requisite elaborate after-party. Sponsors of the event also received ad pages in a Fashion Rocks supplement accompanying the September issues of 16 Conde Nast magazines, which is the giant annual issue for Vogue.

While this is indicative of the magazine industry is definitely in trouble, what it’s saying about Vogue in particular is not adapting to the changing times of media. They’re not adapting to the new media market, to the way that their readership is getting their information from. Very behind the times, and it’s starting to show. It’s not going to be all long before Ms. Wintour’s iconic baby goes under I’m thinking. (image source: Conde Nast)