It was announced today that Bauer media have made the decision to suspend print and digital publication of both FHM and Zoo by the end of the year (The Guardian).
Although no official reason was given for the closures, the company did state that ‘men’s media habits have continually moved towards mobile and social’. This is another sign of the growing decline of print magazine sales worldwide, with most of us sourcing our news and entertainment online.
It seems obvious that men would want to save themselves the bother of an awkward exchange at the newsagents due to the wide availability of nudity and pornography online. The plateauing of the lad mag market also saw the demise of Nuts in 2014 and Loaded in March of this year.
How I feel when I think about lad’s mags. (Source: Get Off My Internets)
FHM once sold over 600,000 copies a year, but sales had recently plunged below 100,000 according to figures from 2014. (The Guardian)
This news comes just a month after Playboy magazine announced a ban on completely nude photos due to a huge drop in circulation. (BBC News)
The reaction to this news has been mixed online with many people viewing it as a welcome change and a step in dismantling media sexism, and others lamenting the closure of yet another print title.
Very sad to hear that FHM and Zoo are closing and that all the people that bullied me at school will no longer have anything to read.
— Joe Lycett (@joelycett) November 17, 2015
PUBLIC SERVICE WARNING: any attempt to ascribe FHM and zoo closures to cultural not technological change is incorrect and must be abandoned
— Josh Lowe (@JeyyLowe) November 17, 2015
If only FHM and Zoo were folding because the brand of misogyny they peddle is outmoded, rather than because the Internet does it better. — Rob Deering (@DeeringRob) November 17, 2015
