Story here: http://www.theadventurelife.org/
It’s not huge news that a magazine just folded but a big deal in my universe since I worked for Outside and Men’s Journal.
All magazine categories are simply too crowded for the number of readers and advertisers available. Men’s Journal was started when Jann couldn’t buy Outside back from Larry Burke. Jann sold it to him when he moved Rolling Stone to New York because he couldn’t afford to keep both magazines afloat in the change of venues. After selling it, the outdoor category started to heat up. Mostly with companies that wanted to be associated with the rugged lifestyle. The advertising they bought was mostly as positioning. When National Geographic launched Adventure in 1999 the outdoor lifestyle category has peaked and was on its way down. I suspect Adventure was more of a reaction to National Geographic shedding millions of readers during the rise of the MTV generation than anything else. That and the average age of their readers made them think they needed to develop another product to attract new, young readers. So, this is all just the natural progression of it all as the category has 1 and a half magazines in it now because Men’s Journal has gone on to position itself as more of a mainstream men’s magazine with outdoor influences.
30 Comments
Not a huge surprise, but still sad new. Sorry to the editors there.
That sucks! Hopefully it’s big brother doesn’t fall.. AND why aren’t any of those thousands of fashion magazines faltering?. That’s all I see in the newsstands… yuck!
@bobscott, Because we live in a vain world of people whose lives are so dull that they have to live vicariously through fantasies and celebrities. The fact that the leading headlines for the past week have been Tiger related, gives even more support to that sad reality.
Very sad news. I hope to see their talented staff land on their feet soon with new opportunities – Sabine is a super photo editor.
@kevsteele, i second that..
Sad times. Sabine and Caroline were fantastic to work with and the product was great.
Sad. Best of luck to Sabine and the rest.
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This is really too bad. The photo staff and especially photo editor Sabine Meyer took time from her busy sched to help give us freelancers direction. The staff really cares about the photographic community.
Sabine was always a delight to work with on stock requests.
Sorry to see the magazine fail.
I hope she and the staff find their way to another visually strong magazine.
We’ll hope the best that Sabine and Caroline are picked up quickly.
I listened a couple of weeks ago as Sabine critiqued a student portfolio and she is a wonderful coach and teacher…truely understands the power of positive reinforcement.
I think if you look at some of the comments on “PROOF” closing up shop they apply here too, albeit the ending of Adventure is openly known.
I am sure the staff will land on their feet, some may even get pick up by big brother. I have always like Nat Geo, i used to collect them until the collection became over whelming, 10 years worth that I donated to a middleschool library many years ago. Great creative photogs that I’ve always admired and enveyed to a degree.
Best wishes to all of them.
[…] was just made aware of National Geographic Adventure’s closing via aphotoeditor. While I’m continually saddened by the barrage of magazine closings, this one hit […]
You are right on in your analysis Rob of course, but it is troubling to see such a fine staff go out the door. Sabine, Caroline, and the whole crew, besides being great professionals, are just damn good people.
Time to start making some SERIOUS lemonade folks.
Merde. The end of the road. I guess we knew it was coming. But it’s still greatly sad news. My hat’s off to Ms Meyer and Ms Hirsch and the crew at NGA -for ten years they have been by far the finest calls to receive. Again, chin’s up, head’s held high.
Hate to hear this news. I enjoyed working with Sabine at Geographic Adventure and back when she was at Adweek, it’s obvious from all these comments that she is very well respected in this business – she deserves it, I hope she goes on to more success.
[…] are changing – everyday seems to bring news of another magazine closing its doors and chicken little cries, foretelling the death of print, litter our RSS readers. if i […]
Such a shame that a magazine that was not afraid to challenge those in positions of power and influence has folded. Twelve months ago I was lucky enough to photograph in India alongside National Geographic Adventure contributing editor Paul Kvinta. We were investigating the alarming reduction in Rajasthan’s tiger population. Paul’s article argued that those in charge needed to be held to account for the loss of tigers. By the tone of his angry response to Adventure’s editors, the Chief Warden of Rajasthan’s parks service clearly demonstrated that our feature had hit the mark. Photo editor Sabine Meyer and her colleague Mike Benoist quite rightly regarded the Chief Warden’s letter as confirmation that they were doing the right thing. Its a sorry day when a magazine brave enough to provoke official outrage – and in the process contribute to positive change – closes down. It was a pleasure working with Sabine and her talented colleagues. I hope it isn’t long before they find exciting new avenues to explore.
Thank you all for your very kind words – it has been amazing working with and knowing all of you…
this particular “Adventure” might be over, but I look forward to our continued adventures – as ever, keep me posted on your projects and travels!
open eyes
open mind
open heart
and go!
@Caroline Hirsch
Good luck Caroline! I know you will land on your feet. Thanks for raising the bar so high…
[…] to see national geo adventure go – good folks sabine + […]
Dear colleagues and friends:
indeed yesterday was a sad day for me and the end of a 10 year adventure. I am honored and deeply moved by all your warm comments and I want to celebrate all the amazingly talented photo editors who have been my partners and my staff over the years: Caroline Hirsch, Kezi Barry, Nell Murray, Kara Fox, Sarah Lavigne, Kristen McClarty and Michelle Wolf. And there is a long list of great photo interns who are flying on their own out there and doing wonderful things. Needless to say our magazine would have been nothing without you the photographers. You deserve much of the credit.
Know that our paths will cross again.
Thank you all for 10 great years.
Onward.
sabineannemeyer@gmail.com
Just a personal note to add to what I wrote yesterday NGA shutting down: I have never worked with photo editors who were as respectful of photographers as Sabine and Caroline, as honest and direct, as positive and supportive. Over the last 10 years they have become not just mentors and great collaborators, but dear friends. And it’s astounding, really, what they accomplished with small budgets and a tiny staff.
Whenever Caroline and I were casting for our shoots, we joked that we were looking to work with people who were “raised right”–good, solid, considerate, and thoughtful people. I can’t think of anyone in this industry for whom that more perfectly fits. It’s wonderful, though not surprising, to see my experience with them reflected in your comments.
holy moly….i feel shocked and saddened. the magazine that has me climbing 5 pitches up Kolob arch, snowboarding the backcountry, backpacking the funky West, and exploring ancient ruins on the Res, is now gone baby gone? this can’t be true! I guess it’s the sign of the times. “The times, they are a changin”!
but also, i feel so honored to have worked with such an amazing group of editors for the past 10 years. i worked as a contributing photographer for Sabine, Nell, Kristen, Caroline and all the other wonderful gals there. they saw potential in me and i really appreciated any and all feedback. I will miss working with them but maybe in the future, we will grow and have a bigger and better creative push.
thanks nga for 10 great years!
xxoo dawn
Dear Sabine, So sorry to hear about the closing of NGA. I just want to express my appreciation for your kindness and the tremendous amount of support and encouragement that you have given Sarah over the years.
I know that because of your wise tutelage she has been able to achieve goals, which she thought were beyond her. Again I want to say Thank You ,and wish you and all your colleagues much success going forward as I know this is but a bump in the road for such a group of talented professionals.
Sincerely,
Guy LaVigne
I want to give my sincere thanks to both Sabine and Caroline for an amazing internship this semester! Working in the photo department for Nat Geo has been a pipe dream since childhood and you both made this come true. I just wanted to say that I am forever grateful for what you have taught me and can’t thank you enough for this incredible experience.
Godspeed
Sad times indeed. I had the pleasure of working with Caroline and she certainly made a tough project enjoyable. I hope that she lands on her very capable feet soon !
Regards,
David
Maybe the adventure mags don’t do as well because adventurers are out adventuring rather than reading?
@Carol Lundeen,
Yes! Carol. Adventure was just marketing to shoppers of tour packages. Let’s not pretend the magazines demise is the end of print.
Yet another sad day in a series of sad days for magazines. I wish Sabine, Caroline and the rest of the Adventure staff the very best.
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