There’s a growing worry that Hudson News, a familiar presence in airports and transportation hubs, might stop distributing magazines in the tri-state area. A nervous publisher compared the situation to an “asteroid wiping out the dinosaurs.”
Concerns escalated for publishers when Hudson News Distributors, which is owned by James Cohen, informed the New Jersey Department of Labor in mid-December about plans to lay off 236 employees at its Parsippany headquarters.
Hudson News handles distribution for a variety of magazines, including titles from Dotdash Meredith, which owns People, along with Condé Nast’s Vogue, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker, among others.
According to a source, Cohen’s company intends to halt magazine distribution starting February 7. This means, unless something changes, you won’t find glossy magazines at various Hudson News spots in the tri-state area, including JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports.
“This is essentially a huge setback for premium magazines depending on sales made in airport terminals,” a knowledgeable person remarked.
After years of difficulty for the magazine industry, another source reiterated the gravity of the situation, saying it’s akin to a catastrophic event for the sector.
An initial source mentioned that the print magazine industry has been shrinking, as people increasingly turn to online news and advertisers cut back on budgets, putting hundreds of millions of dollars at risk for publishers.
Separately, a law firm is investigating whether the layoffs violate the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which mandates that employers give at least a 60-day notice before mass layoffs.
“There will definitely be lawsuits,” one publishing official predicted, suggesting that Cohen might even file for bankruptcy, putting both publishers and workers in a tough position.
“Publishers and union drivers are going to face significant challenges,” the official worried, hinting at possible cuts to drivers’ pension benefits.
Additionally, publishers might find themselves shortchanged for unpaid magazine sales. If bankruptcy occurs, Cohen’s business could evade sharing funds collected from retailers but not disbursed to publishers.
Efforts to reach Cohen for comment went unanswered.
If Hudson News ceases to carry magazines in the tri-state area, titles like People, which depend on weekly sales, could be impacted significantly.
The Post has also contacted the Newspaper and Mail Carriers Union for their take on the situation.
Cohen had previously sold Hudson Group, known for its Hudson News brand, in 2020. He currently oversees the magazine and newspaper distribution after the acquisition from Mr. Dufry, based in Switzerland, with Hudson News managing over 1,000 locations in North America, including 14 in the tri-state area.
Another publishing insider noted that while the idea of magazines vanishing from transportation hubs in New York might seem shocking, specialty magazines have already been diminishing from newsstands for some time.
“It’s not going to be the end of the business,” they commented. They observed that airport newsstands have recently cut back on magazine offerings, instead focusing on “book-a-gins” and special editions that last longer on shelves.
However, more popular titles like People, closely connected to weekly sales, are likely to suffer.
According to individuals familiar with newsstand data, People typically sells between 70,000 and 100,000 copies each week. At its height in 1977, it sold around 3 million copies weekly, with certain standout covers pushing numbers over 1.3 million.
While some argue that Hudson News’ fading sales might only slightly impact People, others believe the damage could be severe.
Overall, concerning print magazines, one person expressed, “This could wipe out everything.”
