And Another One Bites the Dust – The Loss of La Cucina Italiana US – A Bad Taste in My Mouth

wow – goodbye to the US version of La Cucina Italiana

This classic song title comes by way of the British band, Queen, and the song, a Grammy-winner, is circa 1980.   These lyrics so totally apropo for this announcement:

“and another one gone, and another one gone, Another one bites the dust.”

You have heard me go on about the loss of my favorite culinary publications – like Gourmet Magazine after a venerable 68 years! – and the old Waitrose Food in the UK.  Martha Stewart continues to have substantive financial problems in her empire and has let her Everyday Food publication and her Sirius radio station go.  I am no stranger to questioning such decisions by print publishers when they let the ax fall.  But, I ask, Really?   I understand the bottom-line, I do.  But, I do find it difficult to understand how, in this age of raging popularity in all aspects of the food world that publishers can’t find enough sources of revenue to successfully field a print magazine.  That Roseann Tully continues on with Intermezzo in Boston is all the more admirable.

Yesterday, I finally sat down with my January food magazine collection.  I opened the first page of La Cucina Italiana and read Michael Wilson’s letter.  He announced that, “the news that the magazine is folding came unexpectedly and is heartbreaking.”  I was flabbergasted myself, loving this magazine as I do, and I guess I was silly in thinking that this was immune to the same financial factors as any other print food publication.  La Cucina Italiana began publication in 1927 and has for 7 years published a US edition.  So sorry to see this go!  And why?  I will ask anyway – even though I guess the answer is obvious.  But to think that Mr. Wilson and his staff were blind-sided by the decision leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth – no pun intended.  Is there really no place for high-quality print food publishing?  Perhaps a new look is needed at the model and some fresh eyes on the problem……..

Here’s a little summation on the decision: http://www.minonline.com/news/La-Cucina-Italiana-U-S-Shuts-Down_23503.html

I have loved each and every issue of La Cucina Italiana that I have bought and read.  I have learned much from this magazine.  Just one pile:

  super “pun” page as far as I’m concerned –  from La Cucina Italiana US January/February 2014

This raises the question, at least in my mind, as to whether some CEOs are not looking at sources of revenue or being as innovative and creative as they could be.  Can there be some revenue-sharing across media outlets?  That advertising revenue has been the chief source of funding of publications is old news.  But, have publishers really combed all sources and well enough?  What else can be done to save this industry?

I have just a few observations here:  I have been to the Taste of France show in New York and to the NYC Food and Wine Festival and to the Newport Food and Wine Festival, among countless others.  I have seen the growth in the publication group that is known as “Edible Publications”.  On the one hand, in the “show” business, I have left the Taste of France show wondering, really?  Where are all the marvelous French pots and pans and kitchen implements vendors, like Mauviel?  Where is Le Creuset?  Where is Gien? Where is Viking?   Where are all the tabletop vendors?  The Chocolate vendors?  The Cheese vendors – where is Murray’s?  Why don’t they take this opportunity to showcase themselves?  Isn’t this a relatively inexpensive marketing venture -a table at a show?  Perhaps a raffle or giveaway?  On the other hand, I continue to add to my subscription list: Edible Hudson Valley, Edible East End, Edible Santa Barbara………..

Perhaps we have a classic merchandising/marketing problem called “short-sitedness” and genré-limited scope, or even single-person greed?  Or even, old-crusty CEOs with obsolete thinking?  Perhaps this is a classic Graham-family/Jeff Bezos story?    There surely isn’t any shortage of $$$-seeking missiles in the food business……  As an aside, today I read with great interest about Janet Yellen – the cover story on her in Time Magazine – we could all learn a lot from her intellectual vision and approach, I believe – and this thought does apply here.

And so, we ask, how can one group succeed when another group fails?  How can the Food Network grow and Conde Nast/Food can’t?  How can “Edible” grow and La Cucina Italiana cease?  Why Tastes of Italia and not La Cucina Italiana?  How can cookbook authors publish countless books successfully – like Ina Garten and David Lebovitz for example, and Gourmet can’t make it?  Is it as simple as old vs new?  Classic vs innovative?  Stodgy vs tirelessly nimble?  Must be cutting edge/fully integrated?  Must see ahead of the curve?

La Cucina Italiana listed as supporters the great and powerful – and financially successful entrepreneurs – including Marcella Hazan and Lidia Bastianich……… which leads me to the question, did anyone think to approach the Batali/Bastianich powers that be for input, help, funding, support or, anything, before shuttering the doors?  Or, perhaps they should “go ask Alice”……..

Or even, “Hello, may I please speak with Anna Wintour?” ” Who’s calling, please?”  “The food print industry would like to speak with you about….. how to survive and thrive in the digital world like Vogue.”

There are, no doubt, many DEEP pockets out there to be culled…..  the culinary arts world NEEDS their sponsors!  Cookbook publishing is thriving – you need only to visit Amazon to see……..  There must be some new ways to keep food-magazine publishing alive.  Can’t we get some innovative minds around this problem? Perhaps what’s needed is a coalition or consortium, (like the IACP, perhaps),  an industry group that sponsors discussion and problem solving and strategizes on what’s needed to keep the entire industry growing and seeks out cross-fertilization in ideas/funding/marketing/resourcing……….  How about asking Jeff Bezos?  Martha Stewart, I am sure has learned a lot from her own failures.

There are lots of great minds and highly creative and visual people out there.  Can’t they work to cleanly define what works and what doesn’t, to tease out new advertising sources – to broaden the scope of companies who “feed” into this overall industry which is food?  This includes food-related travel companies, too.  There are huge revenue sources here.  Here is just a little list of companies from which print media could try to cull some ad dollars and cross-fertilize the market:

Mauviel, Le Creuset, Viking, Pillivuyt, Gien, Henckel, Batali/Bastianich, Little Brown and Co., Knopf, Clarkson-Potter and, for that matter, all top-tier authors, publishers, restauranteurs, bakers, specialty food-makers, chocolatiers, the “pre” makers, manufacturers, food stores, book stores and the Culinary Schools as well!!!! ………..  And yes, the inherent loss of and shift in the marketing dollars of companies such as these is duly noted here.  But, it is true that we adapt or die.  Well, I’m sure you get my point.  Just take one look around your kitchen – where every single implement is a potential revenue source……..

So, bottom-line is, how can the food industry in total be growing at such an admirable clip – just for example, http://www.kpmg.com/US/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/food-and-beverage-industry-outlook-survey-2012.pdf

let alone the double digit growth rates for specialty genrés like organic foods, just for one, and no one can solve the magazine publishing financial model?  Every Company, large and small has advertising dollars and a marketing promise to maximize.  Perhaps what’s needed is a new matrix………..

good-bye cruel world