Exclusive | Publishers panic that Hudson News – Business News
Speculation is growing that Hudson News, a staple of airports and different transit hubs, may stop carrying magazines within the Tri-State Area — a situation that one panicked writer likened to “an asteroid killing off the dinosaurs.”
Publishers’ fears had been sparked after Hudson News Distributors — the James Cohen-owned distribution arm of Hudson News — knowledgeable the New Jersey Department of Labor in mid-December that it was shedding 236 workers in its Parsippany, NJ, headquarters, a submitting reviewed by The Post confirmed.
Cohen’s New Jersey-based company distributes magazines from publishers together with People magazine proprietor DotDash Meredith; Condé Nast, home to Vogue, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker; Hearst, proprietor of Esquire, Elle and Good Housekeeping; and Rolling Stone writer Penske Media.
Speculation is growing that Hudson News, a staple of airports and different transit hubs, may stop carrying magazines within the Tri-State Area, The Post has discovered. Christopher Sadowski
Cohen’s company is slated to stop distributing mags on Feb. 7, a source with information of the matter instructed The Post on Friday. That means glossies will no longer be accessible in numerous Hudson News areas within the Tri-State Area — together with at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports — barring intervention from an outdoors social gathering.
“It’s basically a death blow for glossy magazines that rely more on airport terminal sales,” stated a source with information of the matter.
After years of struggles for the magazine business, one other source remarked: “It’s like an asteroid killing off the dinosaurs.”
The first source added that tons of of tens of millions of {dollars} are at stake for publishers, whose print magazine companies have already shrunk massively as shoppers decide to get their information online and advertisers have pulled back their spending lately.
Law firm Strauss Borelli is at present investigating whether or not the company’s layoff announcement marked a violation of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires employers to supply 60 days’ discover of mass firings or plant closures.
Publishers’ fears had been sparked after Hudson News Distributors knowledgeable the New Jersey Department of Labor in mid-December that it was shedding 236 workers in its Parsippany, NJ, headquarters. Hudson Capital Properties
“There will be lawsuits,” a publishing source predicted, including that Cohen may file for chapter, leaving publishers and staff within the lurch.
“The publishers and drivers in their unions will get screwed,” the source stated, speculating that drivers may get stiffed out of their pension advantages
Meanwhile, publishers may lose out on money they’re nonetheless owed from the sale of their mags, the individual stated. In the occasion of a chapter, Cohen’s business might keep away from sharing funds it collected from retailers however hasn’t but paid to publishers, the source stated.
Cohen didn’t reply to requests for remark from The Post.
Magazines like People that are more tied to weekly newsstand gross sales will doubtless really feel the influence if Hudson News stops promoting glossies within the Tri-State Area. LightRocket by way of Getty Images
The Post has sought remark from the Newspaper and Mail Deliveries Union, which represents Hudson News Distrbutors’ workers.
Cohen offered his household’s Hudson Group, best recognized for the Hudson News model, in 2020 to Switzerland-based Dufry, with the billionaire retaining the magazine and newspaper distributor. Hudson News operates over 1,000 shops throughout North America. In the Tri-State space, the company has 14 areas, in line with the company’s web site.
A 3rd publishing source stated that whereas it sounds astounding for magazines to turn into unavailable in New York-area airports and different transportation hubs, glossies have slowly been transferring off the newsstand shelf for some time.
Insiders count on publishers to sue Cohen if his distribution arm information for chapter. Getty Images
“It won’t kill the business,” the individual stated, noting that airport newsstands have trimmed down their magazine stock immensely and are largely promoting “book-a-zines” or particular points that have a long-shelf life lately.
Still, glossies like People that are more tied to weekly newsstand gross sales will really feel the influence, insiders stated.
A source with entry to newsstand knowledge stated that the gossip magazine sells between 70,000 and 100,000 copies a week. At its top, People offered about 3 million per week in 1977, with some blockbuster covers promoting over 1.3 million copies, in line with the Alliance for Audited Media.
While the loss of Hudson News gross sales might create a small dent in People’s backside line, a third source stated the blow could possibly be deadly.
“This could take them all out,” the individual stated of print magazines generally.
