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Friday, March 27, 2009

Media Conscious Choice RIP

Posted by Erica C. Barnett on Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 11:29 AM

This post has been updated.

f2f5/1238178345-cover0903.jpg Conscious Enlightenment, which published Seattle Conscious Choice (pictured) and three other free magazines focusing on environmental issues in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, is shuttering its print publications and focusing its efforts online. According to company CEO Christopher Miglino, employees in Chicago, LA and San Francisco have been given the option of taking over the magazine themselves; however, he says that in Seattle, "I don't think that's going to happen." Miglino says the company decided to shut the magazines after print ad sales dropped some 45 percent from last year, with many advertisers failing to pay what they owed. At the same time, he says, the company's interactive division experienced a 30 percent growth in ad sales, most of that from bigger companies that "did not have as much trouble making their payments."

Employees at Conscious Choice's Seattle office were reportedly told yesterday not to bother coming in. No one answered the phone at any of Conscious Enlightenment's four offices; the message at the Seattle office assured volunteers for this weekend's Green Festival, of which Conscious Choice is a sponsor, that "we're still on," and urged people looking for "current information" on the magazine to "visit our web site" ... which contains no current information. Conscious Choice Editor Ritzy Ryciak has not returned emails for comment, and Sandy Fox, the ad sales rep for Conscious Choice, said the employees there have contacted the former publisher, Deverick Martin, to see if he wants to take the magazine over again.

Comments (11) RSS

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Conscious consumerism.
No tears.

Posted by Your Name on March 27, 2009 at 11:40 AM

Thank goodness. They were a waste of resources.

Posted by dwight moody on March 27, 2009 at 11:40 AM

That free mag sucked anyway.

Posted by Pat on March 27, 2009 at 11:41 AM

I believe they've made a conscious choice to not return your calls...

Posted by michael strangeways on March 27, 2009 at 11:43 AM

You should confirm your rumors. I just talked to somebody in their Seattle office. The parent company is shutting down print operations after the April issue, and going online only. There is a group of Seattle employees who are discussing buying out the print product and publishing it locally. This is already the case for their Chicago and San Fran operations.

Posted by JJM on March 27, 2009 at 11:56 AM

You mean those were real magazines?

I thought they were like some arts project ...

Posted by Will in Seattle on March 27, 2009 at 12:16 PM

I can't wait until BuddyTV takes a big shit.

Posted by Sushisoo on March 27, 2009 at 1:00 PM

I know a little about the inner workings of that magazine group. They were insane about giving absolutely no editorial support to their advertising, even going so far as ensuring their editorial never even overlapped with their advertising. As in, if even one vitamin store had an ad in the margazine, a story about high cholesterol couldn't mention that Omega-3 might be a remedy for it. It's no wonder the advertisers went elsewhere, and the articles were so odd.

Posted by WowWear on March 27, 2009 at 3:15 PM

I believe Conscious Choice made some very bad decisions. My company used them for advertising our spa which promotes peace and helps children and women around the world. For people who are really trying to make a difference in world, they screwed us royally. We were offering free 30min facials for people trying to look for new jobs. We're trying to help people and they just folded, WITHOUT TELLING US! It's very upsetting. I loved the magazine and was a loyal reader. It's definitely a shame and they really lost a lot of confidence in my company.

Posted by Liz on April 3, 2009 at 8:55 AM

That is so sad. I loved Conscious Choice and looked forward to it every month. I hate to hear about yet another media effort biting the dust. Conscious Choice had a great niche and they were surprisingly well written, much better than your average free publication. Personally, I liked that they seemed to have an independent editorial voice that was not influenced by advertising like so many other freebies. They will be missed.

Posted by sarahT on April 15, 2009 at 5:30 PM

We are working hard in a publication called Eco-Lógica Magazine, which is a biligual (Spanish-English) publication bringing information about alternatives that help our community to be involved in the green (sustainable) living or ECO friendly actions and social LOGIC.
You can visit us on line www.ecologicamagazine.com we are looking for contributor and advertisers to keep this project. This is 100% local and working in Seattle area from Des Moines to Everett, and for sure Conscious choice was a inspiration to create our project.

Posted by Eco-Logica on October 13, 2009 at 3:54 PM