Premiere folds

Magazine will continue online

By STEVEN ZEITCHIK

Hachette Filipacchi pulled the plug on Premiere on Monday, confirming widespread rumors that the embattled movie mag would be shuttered.

Many of the company's editorial staffers will leave the company, including editor-in-chief Peter Herbst.

The April issue, which features Will Ferrell on the cover for "Blades of Glory," will be mag's last. Staffers put the issue to bed about 10 days ago.

Premiere publisher Paul Turcotte could be named to another post within Hachette, though there was no official confirmation of a new role.

Magazine, published 10 times per year, will continue to exist online.

Specifics on how many staffers would migrate, how often content will be refreshed and how many of the mag's regular features will be maintained were undisclosed.

News of its print demise brings to an end what has been something of a media soap opera for the New York-based title, which employs five print editorial staffers in its Hollywood bureau and an estimated couple dozen in its flagship Gotham offices.

Hachette and parent company Lagardere were trying to sell the title earlier this year, but bidders were reportedly thin for the troubled pub. Mag saw its ad pages decline nearly 25% in 2006.

Announcement marks the closure of another pub for Hachette, which also shuttered Elle Girl and startup Shock.

The 20-year-old Premiere had its heyday in the 1990s, when the appetite for insider movie news grew.

Even today, mag publishes a Hollywood power list and industry scuttlebutt under sections like "Yes It's True: News You're Not Supposed to Know," alongside more consumer-friendly stories, such as a list of overrated movies.

But the trade-flavored pieces in which Premiere once specialized have become less relevant as consumer dailies have taken more of an interest in the biz, while sites like Defamer have proliferated to satisfy the demand for near-instantaneous industry gossip.

Premiere also faced the challenge of being a long-lead mag in a realm where news moves increasingly quickly. For example, Oscar predictions made months in advance now run the risk of becoming stale by the time the print edition hits newsstands.

And while interest in celeb news is by many indications stronger than ever, sites like TMZ and PerezHilton have proved more adept at breaking and keeping up with news.

Hachette's latest strategy is to move in a newsier direction, offering more timely items on Premiere.com and mobile platforms -- routes that would also be less costly.

"This step is consistent with our strategy to examine our portfolio of brands to determine the best business plan for each, based on its category and the marketplace," Hachette prexy-CEO Jack Kliger said in a statement.

Company will continue publishing international editions in territories such as France, where the mag started in the 1970s.