Categories: OLD Media Moves

The overhaul at Harvard Business Review

D.C. Denison and Johnny Diaz of the Boston Globe look at the restructuring of the Harvard Business Review, where 10 staffers lost their jobs last month.

Denison and Diaz write, “But even with the layoffs, Ignatius said Harvard Business Review Group is growing. In the coming weeks and months, he said, the unit will be recruiting a new creative director, deputy editor in chief, senior editor, senior Web editor, assistant Web editor, and Web designer. Additionally, itâ€™s hired a design consultant to help revamp the magazine and a Web design firm to do similar work for the website. Both redesigns will debut in January.

“The restructuring at Harvard Business Review Group comes as magazine publishers are experiencing the effects of the economic downturn. Ad pages for publications in the general â€œbusiness magazineâ€™â€™ category plummeted 27 percent during the first quarter, according to the Publishers Information Bureau, which tracks media print ad spending.

“While not completely shielded from the advertising slump — ad pages at Harvard Business Review dropped 14 percent in the first quarter from the same period a year earlier — the magazine has fared better than competitors. One reason: Its high subscription price of $119 a year gives it a revenue stream most business magazines lack. And in the last few months, the organization has been reducing expenses by cutting travel and freelance budgets to offset the advertising decline.”