Four MediaCorp Publishing titles axed

Singapore - MediaCorp Publishing's MD, Zita Ong has made her first major move since being appointed to the role in June, by putting titles, Vanilla, Kids Company, Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), and Lime on the chopping block.

The news was announced late last night by MediaCorp in a press document which also stated the company's intention to bring some of the axed titles back as online editions. At this early stage Ong would not confirm which titles could possibly make it online but Lime, a youth-oriented entertainment and lifestyle magazine appears to be a strong contender for revival. Ong says, since Lime's launch some 12 years ago, much of its target audience has migrated online. "We'll have to see if its viable to put it online," Ong says.

In addition to the four titles, the company's quarterly décor title, Style:Living will become a bi-annual supplement packaged with Style Weddings, in a bid to increase its advertising revenue.

As many as 12 employees will be affected by the news, however Ong says "nobody will be losing their jobs". Adding that, "everyone has been given options for redeployment within MediaCorp."

Out of the four magazines facing the axe, women's lifestyle magazine Vanilla is the freshest title having launched just over a year ago, and Ong admits "advertisers never opened their arms to it."

The magazine launched from the ashes of six year old parenting title Family. "We tried to change it to a women's lifestyle magazine with Vanilla but advertisers never really got it," she says.

MediaCorp described the changes as fresh efforts for its magazines to go beyond print, and reflects changing demographics and advertising trends.

"The affected titles are our niche publications. While it is sad to see them go, the move will allow the company to focus its resources on growing our other magazines, as well as launching new ones and entering into new ventures. This is a 'rightsizing' initiative which will make us even more robust in the medium term," Ong, said in a statement.