Martha Stewart (Barely) Living Omnimedia Magazines

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia ("MSLO") may endure the damages to its New York City headquarters inflicted by Hurricane Sandy, but the ongoing damages to its stable of magazines caused by a flat economy may not be as easy to overcome.

The New York Times reported yesterday that MSLO has lopped its 600-member work force by 12 percent, and besides the loss of 70 jobs, reduced the frequency of one periodical, and is shopping Whole Living Magazine. According to the Times blog post, Everyday Food will publish five times annually, instead of ten, and will become an add-on to the flagship Martha Stewart Living magazine, instead of being a stand-alone newsstand journal.

Whole Living Magazine, part of the MSLO stable for eight years, has sustained a 24 percent decline in ad pages over the past year. Meanwhile, the conglomerate's signature Martha Stewart Living magazine has seen newsstand sales plunge to 165,371 in June, 2012, compared to 198,700 issues a year earlier, based on Audit Bureau of Circulations figures, the Times reported.

"TUOL" offers the following tip to Ms. Stewart: if you shred the magazines, spray the glossy confetti with Brut cologne and stuff it into tube socks and hang it in your living room, you have wonderful potpourri for just pennies.

Hallmark Channel: Continuing Ratings-Starved Martha Stewart Show Not in the Cards

Image via WikipediaPotpourri and doilies are no substitute for viewers, so the Hallmark Channel will end the run of The Martha Stewart Show in April, Newser.com reports.

Stewart and Hallmark began their collaboration in 2010 (see "TUOL" post 3-31-10), but her show, which Newser.com said drew, on average, a quarter-million viewers last year, only attracted 41,000 watchers in the desirable demographic group of females, ages 25 to 54. Reruns of her program will air from April through September, according to Newser. Stewart may continue to explore other programming options with Hallmark and is pitching ideas to other networks as well, according to a spokesperson, so no need to send her a "Sorry to Hear You Were Cancelled" Hallmark card.

Here's a tip for Hallmark:  combining the shredded tapes of Stewart's old shows with assorted ferns and cuttings can produce stylish, but expensive centerpieces for formal shareholder dinners.

Martha Stewart and Hallmark Cable Venture in the Cards?

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Broadcasting & Cable reports that talks are underway between Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia("MSLO") and Crown Media Holdings-owner of Hallmark Channel and Halllmark Movie Channel--concerning a new joint venture cable tv lifestyle network.

Talks are in the nascent stage, so its difficult to predict whether the outcome will be a new mega-company owned by the two entities or a more modest new cable channel, tentatively named Hallmark Home. Beginning in September, Hallmark will air the Mark Burnett-produced "Martha Stewart Show," which previously was a syndicated program. This week saw the debut of Stewart programming running seven hours daily on Hallmark, which is a lot of doilies and potpourri for a 24-hour viewing cycle.

Both companies would just as soon forget 2009, as Crown Media had a net loss of $22.5 million, and MSLO a net loss of $14.5 million. "TUOL" wonders if the Hallmark Movie Channel will air the "chicks in chains" movies featuring Linda Blair as a tribute to Stewart's brief incarceration in 2004.