VivirLatino

Cristina la revista gets the ax

18:06 H | Topics: Celebrities - Magazines - Marketing - Media

Cristina Saralegui -- the Cuban talk show queen that mainstream media likes to call "the Hispanic Oprah -- has been building her niche media empire since the Latino market was just that: a niche. So it seems strange that now, with such a boom in Latino marketing and an increased demand for content to support advertising, her magazine, "Cristina", is getting the ax:

Still, experts said they were surprised by the decision, given the growth in the market.

Samir Husni, a professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi who tracks the industry, said the magazine should have been able to survive.

"We have not seen the tip of the iceberg yet," he said. "At any given newsstand, even at the non-Hispanic areas, we have five to 10 titles in Spanish. There's no saturation yet."

But it seems that a sharp drop in subscriptions and low revenue led to the decision to eliminate the magazine.

Between 2000 and 2003, the number of Hispanic magazines jumped from 352 to 423, according to the Latin Print Network, which tracks Latino media.

During that same time period, the Magazine Publishers of American found that Cristina's paid circulation dropped from 125,000 in 2000 to about 90,000 in 2004.

But Xtina herself should be fine. According to this article, her company, Saralegui Enterprises, "licenses clothes, home furnishings, furniture and even mattresses." Very diversified indeed. She's got mattresses...Oprah only has a show, a magazine and a studio.

Via / DFW.com

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