Eff Condé Nast.

So, when I started doing this thing yesterday, I was going to have some witty reference to Gourmet's imminent demise and how this would end up being the new standard for culinary journalism.  And then I said to myself "self... let's not get ahead of ourselves here."  My next thought was to have my opening post be a table-banging tirade against the dying of the light, and how sad it is that a venerable institution like Gourmet, headed by someone as brilliant as Ruth Reichl, could meet its end because of a decline in ad sales... and I realized that in all likelihood, that wasn't the best way to make a first impression on my nascent readership.  So I'm going to let it be my second post.

I mean seriously, Condé Nast--  You're going to deep-six a magazine like Gourmet, a publication with a history that goes back over half a century (1941)?  On the advice of McKinsey and Co, a consulting firm that touted Enron as a 'gem of modern management?' In FAVOR of Bon Appetit, which on its best day was never half the publication that Gourmet was?

Never mind the fact that Gourmet, in the last 10 years,  became one of the leading proponents of sustainable eating, fairly pushing the once-niche idea of "farm-to-fork" into the mainstream of American culinary conscience.  Never mind the idea that a cooking magazine could assume a certain amount of kitchen acumen to execute its (relatively simple) recipes, instead of spoon feeding Rachel Ray-esque drivel to the masses (like Bon Appetit).  Never mind the fact that another CN magazine--Vogue, under Anna Wintour's leadership-- has turned out 800+ page tomes, with photo-shoot budgets in excess of $150,000.

Gourmet was not a brand-driven magazine like Martha Stewart Living or Food Network Magazine.  Ruth Reichl actually devoted some space to real food writing, instead of puff pieces on Bobby Flay's latest endeavor.  Over the last few years, we've heard the death knell sounded over and over again for print journalism (the irony of writing about it on the internet is not lost on me), but it hadn't hit home for me until now.  What happened yesterday is a sad commentary on the changing of the guard in journalism and the overwhelming evidence that after the dust settles, it all comes down to money. 

La reine est morte, vive la reine.