Mirror joins forces with OK! magazine as publisher tries new survival strategy
Popular newspaper Mirror merges with celebrity magazine OK! in a surprising move by Reach publisher. The decision comes as part of cost-saving efforts while company deals with falling income and stock value
Reach publisher announced a non-standard move to mix Mirror newspaper with OK! magazine teams on nov 23rd. The mix-up shows how media companies try new ways to stay strong in todays hard market
Caroline Waterston‚ Mirrorʼs editor-in-chief sent out an inner note to workers: “Im doing this to join our know-how and skills making our great work even better for both our products“. She tried to make things clear saying no-one would lose their job (which made some people doubt the whole thing)
The move puts together two very different products — a left-wing news paper and a glossy celeb-focused magazine; making many wonder how this odd couple will work together. Under Jim Mullenʼs lead the company already cut near 800 jobs and now uses AI writing tools which made staff pretty un-happy
The Mirror now wants its stories to get more views: they need 12‚500 page-views in 2 days after posting which is quite a big ask. The companyʼs money situation isnt great — income dropped from 723m back in 2018 to just 569m last year; its market worth went down from 3bn to 280m since mid-2000s
Waterston who got the top job after Alison Philips left this year‚ faces a tough task. One worker said shes “as popular as Donald Trump at the Womenʼs Institute AGM“ but she sees this merge as a chance to do better work. The company says its doing ok with its cost-cutting plans; getting rid of 5-6% expenses this year
