Saveur Magazine

Another one bites the dust - well still here but who knows. So many of these mags are not what they used to be - like Bon Appetit.

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Many mags have long run out of ideas. You can re-make the same dishes and ingredients so many times. What they have been doing is too much styling, too much contrast in photo post processing, and fancy photography. That too will end soon.

I enjoy reading food mags from Australia and some from S. Africa. You can get pdf/e-book versions of most international publications.

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I so agree about BA. I recently had to get rid of some from 1992 - just no room anymore. They were truly beautiful. The photography, even the paper. It was a much different mag back then. I still get it and will not be renewing. I have seen some of,the Australian mags and I agree with that too!

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This is a huge bummer. Saveur was one of the only food magazines left worth reading anymore - in fact, I’m in the middle of the most recent issue right now. Their recipes have never been reliable but the writing and photography have always been great. They have a real knack for writing about food travel without turning it into an advertisement for hotels and restaurants. This month’s articles on sherry in Jerez, bbq in Chicago and cheese in Crete were all informative and unique, with a human interest element that other food magazines ignore completely.

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I used to work in the same building as Saveur’s offices. They were one floor up from me so I often got to talk with, ask questions of and grill the authors, editors & chefs. All while riding up in the elevator.

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I don’t know how I missed this. I remember signing up for a subscription from a teen going door to door shortly after moving to this house. He looked really surprised, and I think it was because it was perhaps the most expensive choice.

It is probably one the only magazine collections I didn’t purge.

I remember debating what was happening with my subscription with some automated response in the fall of 2019 when there were just four issues a year, getting a cancelation notice for the digital version from Kindle in 2020, and for some reason noticed this morning that I hadn’t gotten a paper copy in quite some time.

None of my old links seem to work, but I found this.

And this

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Hate to see this happen. Not that “digital-first” food media is inherently lesser. It’s just that cost-cutting typically seems to be a prime motivation in decisions to drop print, rather than the main reason for the change being a desire to innovate in a digital format.

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@tomatotomato

Sad … I had read it from time to time. Unfortunately, they did not export the magazine, however, a client of mine, had sent it to me.

So many print magazines have gone out of business, with paper & print costs over the top. I agree with you.

Some have committed to the digital formats in smaller versions.

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This is the last issue I received.

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As is often the case, I’ll be contrarian. Losing print doesn’t distress me. I don’t need more paper. What I find of concern is the layoffs. We’ve seen this in mainstream media where smaller staffs in particular good editors has reduced the quality of reporting. You never saw an error in fact, a misspelled word, or a grammar error in Washington Post or New York Times. Today, they don’t even bother with corrections and retractions - that would double the size of the paper.

Blogs and websites, especially in specialty areas like cooking, have provided greater value than big media for long enough that big media can’t generate enough revenue to pay staff. It’s spiraling down the drain.

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We went to a Saveur talk at Gramercy Tavern here in NYC two years ago, accidentally – lovely spouse had thought it was just a tasting-menu special when she saw it promoted. It turned out to be a platform for the founding editor and the new editor to talk about the magazine’s past and future. The former spoke of Instagrammy relevance stomping on the face of contextual authenticity. The new editor in chief said social networking was bad except when it was good.

Most at the table were a clubby industry bunch who could’ve been cast by Woody Allen. We were sat with other randos at our end. Chef Anthony and the sommelier were cheery and chatty with everyone, though, and the food was wonderful.

Here are two phone photos of mine, of the room and the signature entree (roast chicken with madeira sauce); plus what the same dish looked like when Saveur shot it.

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I agree. I read no print. All the people expressing their sadness, were you subscribers? Nostalgia doesn’t pay the bills.

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Yes, I got a notice about six months ago that there would be no more Saveur, and that I could request a refund for the remainder of my print subscription or transfer it to Magnolia Journal, a new Chip and Joanna Gaines travesty. I responded in no uncertain terms that I would like a refund. Incredibly sad that they would consider Joanna Gaines’ particular brand of nonsense to be an appropriate replacement to a magazine like Saveur.

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Re: the Gaines travesty, those 2 get on my last nerve, I’ll immediately change the channel if possible. It’s bad at the nail salon if they’re on. A far away friend asked me if I liked their mag (rag) because she wanted to get it for me for birthday! I didn’t mince my words when I responded :scream_cat: I also don’t shop on Wayfair, ever.

ETA: I did love Saveur, as I did a few other print food magazines, especially Gourmet. I doubt they’ll ever come back, digital is the way forward, sadly. At least it keeps me from hanging on to old copies…

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I believe I was a subscriber for about 15 years, and as described above, was arguing with an automatic response when my subscription wouldn’t automatically renew in 2019

I value good writing and will pay for a subscription even if I don’t read it regularly. I want journalism to survive,

I will say I recently switched to digital only NYT and New Yorker Magazine because weekly is a lot of paper.

I also purged a lot of my Gourmet mags, before the stopped publishing, then bought used ones on Ebay. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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Same. I haven’t yet found a food publication, in any format, that equals what Gourmet used to offer.

The rise of digital media unfortunately helped worsen the fallacy that content somehow should be free, or at most low cost, to create and distribute. And there’s no advertising model yet in this new world that’s worked out well enough financially for publishers overall.

Anyone who’s worked on a digital team of any sort (raises hand) can vouch that producing and publishing quality content, in any field, still takes money and time to do. That remains true in both print and digital. This problem isn’t yet solved, as we have witnessed.

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Yep, I was a subscriber. Nostalgia needn’t pay bills to pay respect to the passing of an era. Jeez.

I have digital subscriptions to certain things such as the NYT and WSJ, but in my life there are some things there are just no substitutes…print magazines and most books for example.

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You bet your ass I was a subscriber. I know of no other publication that came close to Saveur for food photography and content. I also subscribed to Gourmet because I desired pretention delivered to my mailbox, but Ruth Reichel messed that up so I let it run out.

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I’ve never subscribed to Saveur. That type of magazine never appealed to a home cook like me.

I started out buying BA and Gourmet (loved Jay Jacobs & Caroline Bates for the NYC & CA reviews) from the newsstand at full price, then switched over to $40 a year for subscriptions. As time went on and “food” changed in the 90’s aka a lighter style of cooking, I lost interest. I missed the 80’s BA Great Cook and Cooking Class the way they use to be.

THEN starting in the year 2000, I received mail every month. Subscriptions for Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Condé Nast etc. for a mere $10-$12 per year. Who could resist that?

Then I gradually lost interest in all magazines and the final straw was when Rappaport took over BA. I have nothing against Gwyneth Paltrow but her plain Jane recipes were pitiful. That in addition to the smaller, lighter print. I shouldn’t have to strain my eyes to read a magazine. What’s wrong with black and white print? No more for me. Just my 2 cents.

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