Pinching Forbes

The New York Times reported today that even Forbes is feeling the squeeze of the economy.
While Forbes magazine has 920,000 subscribers, its average issue price has steadily decreased and its ad pages are down 15 percent in the first quarter compared to last year.
The article reports Forbes has stopped matching contributions to its 401k program, laid off roughly 100 of its 1,000 employees since November and started five-day unpaid furloughs for its staff.
In the story, Mark M. Edmiston of AdMedia Partners asserts Forbes isn't worth half the $75 million its worth has been estimated in the past.
Yet the Times reports that Forbes' misery isn't without company, with the Publishers Information Bureau listing revenue of over $338 million for Forbes, $276 million for Fortune and $236 million for BusinessWeek.
The story shows the recession is impacting both people's demand for Forbes' economic content and its employees' desire to cover it. From the story:

“Everyone here likes the magazine, the people who run it, and most of us believe in the mission,” said one editorial employee who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak with a reporter. “But that sense of mission is sort of hard to sustain when most of the news is bad. Capitalism is a less sexy topic for everyone, including us.”

View the story here.

Is covering capitalism less sexy for you? What do you think about the struggling of Forbes and its competitors? Comment and let use know.

CNBC's Becky Quick on co-anchoring a live morning program

(201).net, a local Web site that caters to Bergen County, NJ, has an article about CNBC anchor Becky Quick. Quick co-anchors "Squawk Box" from 6 to 9 a.m. ET. This means she is at work around 4 a.m., catching up on all of the overnight news developments and, of course, filling up on caffeine. But Quick doesn't seem to mind the lifestyle:

The great thing about being on so early is that you get all the news as it hits the wires. My co-anchors, Joe Kernen and Carl Quintanilla, and I love that more than anything because we love getting the news live, while we're on the air, and trying to interpret exactly what it means, how to ask the best questions, so we can set the business agenda for the day. We need to tell people what they should be thinking about before the market even opens.

Quick said she has watched her 401(k) plummet in the last year and admitted that she did not even open her last statement. But Quick said it's still important to know what is happening with the markets and the economy. "Business news is more vital than ever," she said.

For more click here.

FBN Stock Market Editor: "We're not going to hit bottom until 2011 or 2012"

In an interview with Woman Around Town, Elizabeth MacDonald, stock market editor at the Fox Business Network, shared her views on the economy, the bailouts and a future turnaround for the markets. MacDonald said she is pessimistic, and noted that she does not anticipate a market bottom until 2011 or even 2012. She said the bailouts, which were a product of "hysterical blindness," may not work. "I have lots of concerns including the impact of government's fiscal recklessness (which I should note also occurred under President Bush) and a potential national security issue now that China holds massive amounts of U.S. debt," she added.

MacDonald has the following advice for investors:

Start socking away your money in a decent bond fund with long-term bonds, not short-term debt instruments, which tend to be more volatile, and max out your 401(k). Save, save, save because the U.S. government is deeper into the economy than ever before. And your taxes and costs are going to go up.

MacDonald has received multiple awards for her business coverage, including the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business Journalism. Prior to joining FBN, she worked for Forbes and The Wall Street Journal.

For more click here.