Reader's Digest set to file for bankruptcy!
WASHINGTON - August 18, 2009 - Reader's Digest, an Amerikan media icon of the 20th century, thanks to its inspiring, safe-for-family-reading articles and folksy, cornpone humor, is planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
Parent company Reader's Digest Association has had trouble since going private in 2007, cutting costs and trying to stay relevant in the post-ironic, niche-driven 21st-century media landscape, a place than can be tough sledding for an earnest, general-interest magazine. The magazine still maintains it is the world's largest paid circulation magazine, selling 8 million copies per month in the U.S.
According to the magazine's demographic research, the median age of a Reader's Digest reader is 52 and has a household income of about $58,000.
The bankruptcy would apply only to Readers Digest U.S. holdings. Its businesses in Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand would be unaffected. The publication has offices in 44 nations, a testament to the magazine's one time ability to distill and distribute content around the world.
Parent company Reader's Digest Association has had trouble since going private in 2007, cutting costs and trying to stay relevant in the post-ironic, niche-driven 21st-century media landscape, a place than can be tough sledding for an earnest, general-interest magazine. The magazine still maintains it is the world's largest paid circulation magazine, selling 8 million copies per month in the U.S.
According to the magazine's demographic research, the median age of a Reader's Digest reader is 52 and has a household income of about $58,000.
The bankruptcy would apply only to Readers Digest U.S. holdings. Its businesses in Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand would be unaffected. The publication has offices in 44 nations, a testament to the magazine's one time ability to distill and distribute content around the world.
