Radio & Records, the failing Nielsen publication that lost more than $2 million last year, is shutting down as of Friday. The print magazine and Web site are simply going the way of the wind, with 40 staffers axed. Sadly, they include six of my talented co-workers in New York. The entire West Coast clan, including editor "C," who saw to my demise there in March, are all out.
Honestly, R&R lost its relevance years ago, as the industries that it covered—both music and radio—were dive-bombing their way into obscurity. But there was a bigger problem here. The leadership of R&R was offered unlimited resources once it became part of Nielsen, including professional journalism acumen through its East coast staff, as well as technology and design savvy that could have brought the publication into the 21st century. But instead, West Coast management fought tooth and nail to take R&R backward—to remain a quaint, folksy read that simply was hard to take seriously in the millennium.
Always sorry to see the mighty fall, but knowing exactly what happened day to day within the organization, R&R's demise was clearly a victim of self-sabotage from obstinate leadership that was unable to see the future.
From a personal perspective, I feel like the lucky one: I was pushed off the plank before the ship sank.
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