Bauer Media softcore titles The Picture and People to close

ZOE SAMIOS
OCTOBER 23, 2019

The Australian

Bauer Media softcore titles The Picture and People will close by the end of the year, marking an end to decades of magazines featuring topless models and stories about sex.

The Australian understands the German publisher was forced to axe the two titles after a number of major retailers include BP and 7 Eleven decided to pull the magazines from shelves. Staff have been informed of the decision.

A spokeswoman for Bauer Media said the business was working with staff to find “suitable redeployment”.

“Discussions to close Picture and People Magazines have been taking place as the magazines have lost ranging, which has affected their commercial viability,” the spokeswoman said.

“As closures impact a number of people, including some staff and suppliers, they need to be well considered and timed appropriately.”

The decision to close marks an end to more than 60 years of publication for People, and 31 years for The Picture.

At its peak in the 1980s, People, which reportedly was the first weekly magazine to feature topless models, sold about 250,000 copies a week. At peak circulation in the 1990s, The Picture sold about 190,000 copies a week.

According to June figures from Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (EMMA), People had a print audience of 133,000, while The Picture’s circulation was 168,000.

However both these circulation figures would become impacted by the decision by major retailers to pull them from shelves.

The closure of The People and Picture are the latest to be axed by Bauer Media, which bought the former ACP Magazines titles for $500 million back in 2012. Others to be axed include Zoo, Cleo and Cosmopolitan.

On Tuesday fuel giant BP Australia said it would join 7-Eleven and pull the two magazines from its 350 outlets, after complaints they sexualised young women and promoted harassment.

The decision came after activist group Collective Shout alerted BP to recent covers of the Australian magazines. 7-Eleven had already stopped selling the magazines in its 700 convenience stores.

Headlines on the covers included “Better Than Viagra” and featured a photograph of a young woman in pigtails with the caption “I have no gag reflex”, Collective Shout said.

The decision comes two days after Bauer Media announced plans to acquire Seven West Media’s magazine arm, Pacific, for $40 million.

ZOE SAMIOSMEDIA BUSINESS REPORTER