That logo is unmistakably popular… in younger days, reading
a copy was associated with knowledge and those reading were considered a class
in their own. It was costly, but second hand books on platforms still sell as
hot cakes. Its Indian edition was first
published in 1954 and its circulation reportedly was 40,000 copies. Today, the
magazine is published in India
Reader's Digest is described to be an American general interest family magazine,
published monthly (except for a short period between 2010 and 2012 when the
American edition was published ten times per year). Formerly based in Chappaqua ,
New York , its headquarters is now in New York City United States
It is in news not for any of the great traits described
above, but for wrong reasons !
Sad because of the news that the owners have filed for
bankruptcy for the second time in less than four years, citing a
greater-than-expected decline of the media industry. RDA Holding Co and more
than two dozen affiliates filed for a pre-negotiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan
the company says will allow it to reduce its $534 million debt load by 80
percent, according to documents filed Sunday in US Bankruptcy court in the
Southern District of New York. Its
international operations are not part of the filing. It is the second time the
company filed for bankruptcy protection since 2009.
Executives at Reader’s Digest must be hoping that the
magazine’s second trip to bankruptcy court in under four years will be its
last. This week’s filing is the latest effort by the 91-year-old publisher,
whose magazine once resided on many American coffee tables, to fix itself in a
difficult economic environment. “After considering a wide range of
alternatives, we believe this course of action will most effectively enable us
to maintain our momentum in transforming the business and allow us to
capitalize on the growing strength and presence of our outstanding brands and
products,” Robert E. Guth, the company’s chief executive is quoted as stating. ,
The earlier filing for bankruptcy in 2009, emerging a year
later under the control of lenders like JPMorgan Chase. That reorganization
substantially cut the publisher’s debt, and afterward the company worked to
further shrink its footprint. It jettisoned nonessential publications in a
series of deals; most of the money from those transactions went to pay down a
still significant debt burden.
Somehow the very thought of closure of a book like ‘Reader’s
Digest’ makes a sad reading…
With regards – S. Sampathkumar .
19th Feb 2013.
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