Fortune subscriber is upset and won't renew

At least this reader isn’t upset with the editorial content. But the business magazine has just lost a reader.

Here is the post: “I received an invoice in the mail today. It wasn’t just any invoice. It was from a magazine I used to really enjoy. However, after receiving it, I decided I’ve had enough of them.

“The magazine is Fortune. This was literally one of my favorites. I read it cover to cover every month and learned a lot. However, the principles they betrayed in this one invoice made them a company I’ll scorn for life. I received an invoice demanding payment (for 2 week into the future due date mind you), for a subscription I didn’t request. I subscribed for 1 year and received my 1 year’s magazines. Apparently, this is a strategy where they “automatically” sign you up for the next year once your one year’s subscription runs out. I wouldn’t even be all that upset if they sent me something saying that and requesting payment. However, the verbiage in this invoice was more like I was delinquent on my mortgage payment, saying things like “it is imperative you pay this immediately”, etc. Excuse me? I don’t think so. I even had to “cancel” this subscription renewal I never asked for by calling their automated B.S. number.”

The entire blog post can be read here.

This poses an interesting question: Are newspapers and magazines losing subscribers because of the editorial content isn’t what readers want, or are they losing readers because of how they handle their business operations? I haven’t seen this question addressed in any of the hang-wringing coverage about the woes of the media. Maybe, just maybe, it’s not all the journalist’s fault.