XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX FRI JAN 18 2002 16:02:37 ET XXXXX EXCLUSIVE: TINA'S TALK HALTS PUBLICATION; PLUG PULLED ON MONTHLY
MIRAMAX/HEARST has pulled the plug on TALK magazine -- effective immediately, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.
The current issue on newsstands will be the last, say top sources. The magazine's staff will be told of the dramatic development during a 5 pm [ET] meeting.
The decision to fold the monthly was made in recent days, with TALK president Tina Brown described as "highly disappointed" by the action.
TALK/MIRAMAX will continue its successful book division, with upcoming works by Rudy Giuliani and Madeline Albright, sources say.
The magazine launched with a splash in the Summer of '99 with an all-star party at the Statue of Liberty attended by Madonna, Kissinger, Rushdie, Bacall, Demi, Hurley and others.
Brown quickly caused a fuss-commotion with her inaugural issue when First Lady Hillary Clinton confessed how the president had trouble remaining faithful to her because he was "scarred by abuse" when he was barely four.
But the magazine quickly began bleeding money; in the end, losing upwards of $50 million.
The Ad Crunch of '01 and a post-Septmeber 11 media slowdown proved to be too much a burden for the upstart.
"The parties, the premieres, the expense accounts were brutal on the bottom line," says an insider.
----------------------------------------------------------- Filed By Matt Drudge Reports are moved when circumstances warrant http://www.drudgereport.com for updates (c)DRUDGE REPORT 2002 Not for reproduction without permission of the author