Asiaweek shuts shop

Asiaweek was launched in 1975

By Marianne Bray
and Phil O'Sullivan

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- After 26 years in business one of Asia's oldest English news magazines, Asiaweek, is closing its doors.

Owned by CNN's parent company AOL Time Warner, the magazine says it plans to lay off all 80 employees.

Bosses at the weekly say an already gloomy outlook worsened after the terrorist attacks on the United States, and the longer-term effects are taking their toll.

Asiaweek staff join a growing number of media workers out of jobs in Hong Kong, as advertising revenues dip and publishers cut their losses.

Only a few weeks ago, Dow Jones announced plans to combine the editorial staff of the Far Eastern Economic Review and the Asian Wall Street Journal. That move included laying off 25 percent of the combined operation.

And two of Hong Kong's leading English dailies have also slashed jobs.

Eighteen journalists were sacked from the South China Morning Post last month, while rival Hong Kong iMail shed around 100 of its 140 staff in September.

Finite market

The magazine was relaunched in May

After reviewing Asiaweek's performance, Don Logan, Chairman and CEO of Time Inc. said in a statement the company had decided to stop publishing the magazine.

The weekly, which was launched in 1975, was redesigned and relaunched in May as a business publication with a circulation of 120,000.

But the relaunch was not enough to see off the advertising downturn in a crowded marketplace, analysts told CNN.

"The market is finite. It's not growing right now and I think some of the corporate mergers that have happened in the United States put pressure on the performance of publications out here in Asia," said Ken McKenzie from Media Magazine.

Advertising for regional publications has fallen more than 16 percent in the last year, with some publications down much more than that, according to Philip Rich from AC Nielson Media International.

'Not seen the end'

The nearest comparison being made is with the aftermath of the Asian economic crisis in 1998.

"Maybe we haven't seen the end of it yet here," Rich told CNN.

"I get the impression that a lot of companies, as they're budgeting, are thinking that the situation might last for some considerable time."

No Asiaweek spokespeople were immediately available for comment.

But the December 7 issue, released on Thursday, will be the last.

All the magazine's 80 staff will be employed through to December 31st, the company said in a statement.

The New York Times reported Thursday that two other AOL Time Warner-owned magazines -- Family Life and On, formerly Time Digital -- would also be shut down.