Perth’s Scoop Magazine has been closed nearly two decades after hitting the newsstands, with management citing tough market conditions for the iconic publication’s demise.
Founder and publisher David Hogan officially told his staff late on Friday that Scoop Publishing would cease trading that day.
Mr Hogan said the challenging local market conditions had added to the disruption of traditional print media operations by online alternatives.
“This is a direct result of the downtown in the market and the business in its current form no longer being viable,” he said in a statement.
Last year, Scoop carved out and sold its specialist online business, Scoop Digital, with a focus on directories in fields such as arts, events, lifestyle, travel and community. Mr Hogan said he had no equity in Scoop Digital, which would continue to supply the digital component of existing contracts with Scoop Publishing.
Mr Hogan said he had sought equity investment in the total business for the past two years and, most recently, in the print stable.
Scoop started in 1997 as a fashion-focused quarterly, guided by Mr Hogan’s experience with an eyewear fashion publication called Windows, distributed through optometrists.
It later branched out with titles on travel, design, homes and specialist fashion fields.
In 2007-08 it embarked on a national expansion of its travel magazine title, but the strategy was foiled by the GFC, which hit east coast markets even harder than the short-lived downturn in Western Australia.
At its peak in 2008, before withdrawing back to its WA home market, Scoop had 14 titles.
