End of the Adventure

by Alan Mairson on December 4, 2009 11 Comments

AdventureMagdec-jan-2010-cover

National Geographic Adventure
1999 – 2009

“… Seventeen employees, almost all of them in editorial, will be dismissed because of the closure. [Publisher John] Griffin said it was unclear whether John Rasmus, the founding editor of the magazine, who also was the founding editor of Men’s Journal and the top editor at Outside, would stay with the company.”

The magazine, after a seemingly endless nosedive, finally crashes and burns — but the founding editor is the only person who might stick around “going forward”? What an amazing story. One for the ages. We already can see the cover line on Adventure‘s first newsstand-only special issue:

“LEAD” FROM THE REAR & LET YOUR SOLDIERS DIE FIRST
42 Tips On How To Survive
After Running Your Magazine Into The Ground
by John Rasmus
(with an introduction by Chris Johns)

__________

UPDATE from The Reaper @ Magazine Death Pool:

“… So out goes Adventure and NatGeo Traveler is being shopped, according to recent reports.

We’ll be down to the core product of little rhesus monkeys and naked African children in no time.”

  • Ann Perry

    Hey Alan,
    Even as National Geographic Adventure officially crashed and burned, several longtime staffers in NG Maps (formerly the Cartographic Division) were told that their positions were being eliminated/converted into four new positions that they were welcome to apply for. (I know, never end a sentence with a preposition.)
    Sigh.
    Ann

    • Hi Ann,
      Great to hear from you, though I wish it were under happier circumstances. I heard about the layoffs in Maps, though I’m still getting details. The trick of eliminating positions & creating new ones for which unemployed staffers can apply isn’t an original one, but it is disheartening. Ditto on your ‘sigh.’

  • Ann Perry

    Hey Alan,
    Even as National Geographic Adventure officially crashed and burned, several longtime staffers in NG Maps (formerly the Cartographic Division) were told that their positions were being eliminated/converted into four new positions that they were welcome to apply for. (I know, never end a sentence with a preposition.)
    Sigh.
    Ann

    • Hi Ann,
      Great to hear from you, though I wish it were under happier circumstances. I heard about the layoffs in Maps, though I’m still getting details. The trick of eliminating positions & creating new ones for which unemployed staffers can apply isn’t an original one, but it is disheartening. Ditto on your ‘sigh.’

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  • Rick

    Never made sense to me that the edit offices were in New York. It doesn’t fit culturally with an outdoor mag, and expensive. Wasn’t it Rasmus who moved Outside from Chicago to Santa Fe? But Adventure was hobbled early on by the conflict with Licensing, having lost a lot of advertisers who were upset that NG was competing with them and had other places to go. Meanwhile magazine advertising began its tailspin, so even when that irritation was long gone, the ad dollars weren’t there.

    • Hi Rick,

      Thanks for stopping by. And yeah, I know what you mean: What’s an outdoor adventure magazine doing in Manhattan? Answer: Now, nothing.

      I think you’re right about Santa Fe, though I don’t know anything about the Chicago years. Re: licensing — what was the story on that?

      As for Mr. Rasmus — I wonder where he lands? Can you sink a big ship, blame it on the weather, and then get another commission? Stay tuned!

  • Rick

    Never made sense to me that the edit offices were in New York. It doesn’t fit culturally with an outdoor mag, and expensive. Wasn’t it Rasmus who moved Outside from Chicago to Santa Fe? But Adventure was hobbled early on by the conflict with Licensing, having lost a lot of advertisers who were upset that NG was competing with them and had other places to go. Meanwhile magazine advertising began its tailspin, so even when that irritation was long gone, the ad dollars weren’t there.

    • Hi Rick,

      Thanks for stopping by. And yeah, I know what you mean: What’s an outdoor adventure magazine doing in Manhattan? Answer: Now, nothing.

      I think you’re right about Santa Fe, though I don’t know anything about the Chicago years. Re: licensing — what was the story on that?

      As for Mr. Rasmus — I wonder where he lands? Can you sink a big ship, blame it on the weather, and then get another commission? Stay tuned!

  • Rick

    When the NG Licensing operation went into full swing under Linda Berkeley early in the last decade, they did a number of deals with manufacturers to create NG branded outdoor products. These ranged from hiking and climbing shoes to caribiners. A number of key Adventure advertisers removed their ads because they felt NG was competing with them, and they were right. Perhaps NG learned something form this experience — while there are a number of photography related NG branded products, there are no NG cameras.

  • Rick

    When the NG Licensing operation went into full swing under Linda Berkeley early in the last decade, they did a number of deals with manufacturers to create NG branded outdoor products. These ranged from hiking and climbing shoes to caribiners. A number of key Adventure advertisers removed their ads because they felt NG was competing with them, and they were right. Perhaps NG learned something form this experience — while there are a number of photography related NG branded products, there are no NG cameras.

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