Soap Opera Weekly -- RIP

[GladGirl]

Staff was told today, apparently. RIP. Always my favorite mag. Classy interviews, gorgeous photos and thoughtful opinion pieces.

[Eric83]

Yeah its sad, but they had been reduced to having interviews with Jersey Shore castmembers. Definitely time to end it.

[Max]

This is most definately not a sad thing, given that SOW has been biased in favor of the "big name" soaps since day one. Any press organization that practices biased journalism deserves to go out of business. SOD will be next, although I anticipate its demise won't come until DOOL or GH goes off the air.

[DRW50]

SOW was much more fair in their coverage of the non "big name" soaps for years, with multiple covers on AW, Santa Barbara, etc. Only in the late 90's did they falter.

[marceline]

Print media is dying. Soaps are dead. A magazine devoted to soaps is like two rocks in the ocean holding onto to each other tight in the hopes they won't sink.

I feel for the staff.

[teplin]

Yes, the early years of SOW were glorious. Cogent criticism, wonderful photography, and to my mind, good coverage of all the soaps, not just the big hits. With the first issue, it far outclassed SOD. I loved it. Until Mimi Torchin left and it fell apart overnight. I hadn't picked up a copy since. I'm surprised it lasted this long.

[Max]

Was it during the late-90s when SOW was acquired by SOD's corporate parent? When did Mimi Torchin leave?

Certainly, its last decade was horrendous. I think the saddest hour came when GL got a farewell cover that looked like it was put together by a third grader. In SOW's defense, however, that was more than GL got from SOD. (Perhaps SOW's "generousity" in actually giving GL a cover is what caused such irreparable damage to that magazine's financial state.)

[alexisfan07]

Damn. To be honest, I'm surprised they outlasted any of the recently canceled shows. Does that mean SOD is still in business?

[DRW50]

I got a little tired of it even before Mimi left, as she spent so much time talking about primetime or just putting up a postcard. I did still like their special issues, like where are they now? and homes of the stars.

The bottom dropped out as soon as Mimi and Marlena were gone. As soon as I saw fashion tips and focus on primetime I knew it was done. Then the magazine became such cheap quality paper. I only got about another handful of issues after that.

[Eric83]

I can't blame them. Haven't they said Y&R, DAYS, & GH covers would sell better than a cover for OLTL & ATWT. You have to go for what sells.

[EastMA2]

Sorry for the people who are losing their jobs, but this can't have come as a surprise. The magazine is a poor shell of what it used to be, coupled with the fact that there are only 4 daytime soaps to cover. RIP.

[Paul Raven]

[ReddFoxx]

Not a lot left to cover, so closing up shop was inevitable at this point.

[Paul Raven]

[Max]

This is true, but my own opinion is that having Y&R, DOOL, & GH hog the cover is the best way to maxmize short-term profit, as opposed to being the wisest course of action for the long haul. Because they did this, these three soaps are all that are essentially left (whereas the other shows may still be around if the soap magazines actually gave them the time of day); and, obviously these soaps plus B&B are not enough on their own to generate decent magazine revenue. Thus, one could say that the soap press is largely to blame for its own demise.

When all the magazines started to heavily tout the Prospect Park venture, I knew that things were getting desperate for the industry. (It seemed as if all objectivity was lost, and instead of asking the tough questions, the soap magazines acted like PP's press agency.) Previously, only crocidile tears would be shed if a soap was cancelled; however, with the news of the dual cancellation, they made it sound as if the world had ended. Given that the soap mags never seemed to give a damn about OLTL before it was cancelled, the hysteria drummed up by the soap press was so self-serving, because they knew that their end would come if only four soaps remained. (And before anyone calls me a "disgruntled P&G soap fan," I'm sure the soap press would have acted the same way if the cancellations of ATWT & GL meant reducing the number of daytime dramas from six to four.)