AOL to Close 3 of Its Magazines

AOL Time Warner Inc., the biggest media company, is ending publication of Asiaweek, Family Life and On Magazine, marking the latest round of magazine closings after a decline in advertising sales.

Asiaweek, one of Asia’s two largest English-language news weeklies, will shed 80 jobs, although some employees may be offered positions in other AOL Time Warner units. The company didn’t disclose the number of staff at Family Life and On, said Time Inc. spokesman Peter Costiglio.

Magazines such as Industry Standard, a weekly about Internet-related business, and media-criticism publication Brill’s Content have folded as advertising slumped after the U.S. economy entered a recession.

Many companies said advertising fell further after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as businesses reconsidered marketing campaigns or reduced their spending.

“The market was just sliding toward the end of summer, but after Sept. 11, the bottom just fell out,” Asiaweek Editor Dorinda Elliott said.

U.S. advertising sales probably will fall as much as 8% this year, the first decline in spending since 1991, according to Competitive Media Reporting, which tracks industry trends.

AOL Time Warner co-Chief Operating Officer Robert Pittman said this week that he didn’t see evidence of a recovery in the ad market. The New York-based company gets about one-fifth of its sales from advertising.

“It’s not getting worse, but I don’t see it getting better,” Pittman said. “It’s very difficult for anyone to predict.”

The December issues of Family Life and On, a technology guide, will be the final editions for the monthlies, Costiglio said. Time Inc. publishes more than 150 magazines, he said.

Shares of AOL Time Warner fell 12 cents to $35.38 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has declined 18% in the last year.