Australia’s longest running magazine, The Bulletin, has been closed after more than 120 years of publication because it is no longer “commercially viable”.
ACP Magazines announced that the current issue of the venerable weekly title would be the last, with plummeting circulation figures attributed to its demise.
In the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures for September 2007, The Bulletin had 57,039 sales, down from circulation highs of over 100,000 in the mid 1990s.
ACP Magazines chief executive officer, Scott Lorson said: “This is a sad day for all of us at ACP Magazines. The Bulletin has been an institution in Australian publishing and has provided its loyal readers with the best quality, in-depth news and current affairs analysis in the country. The Bulletin has often set the political agenda, broken many important stories and won many awards for journalism over the years,” Lorson said.
“We have invested heavily in the title with top editorial, photographic and design staff who have been devoted to making The Bulletin the best of its genre. However, despite our best efforts, the magazine has simply not been commercially viable for some time. With limited prospects for improvement, the time has come to make a very tough decision.”
ACP said the decision to close the magazine was symptomatic of a trend experienced by many weekly news and current affairs titles, with the impact of the internet contributing to its demise.
