Exclusive | Publishers panic that Hudson News might stop carrying their mags — “asteroid killing off the dinosaurs”

Speculation is rising that Hudson News, a staple of airports and other transit hubs, would possibly stop carrying magazines in the Tri-State Area — a state of affairs that one panicked publisher likened to “an asteroid killing off the dinosaurs.”

Publishers’ fears have been sparked after Hudson News Distributors — the James Cohen-owned distribution arm of Hudson News — informed the New Jersey Department of Labor in mid-December that it was shedding 236 staff in its Parsippany, NJ, headquarters, a submitting reviewed by The Post confirmed.

Cohen’s New Jersey-based company distributes magazines from publishers including People journal proprietor DotDash Meredith; Condé Nast, home to Vogue, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker; Hearst, proprietor of Esquire, Elle and Good Housekeeping; and Rolling Stone publisher Penske Media.

Speculation is rising that Hudson News, a staple of airports and other transit hubs, would possibly stop carrying magazines in the Tri-State Area, The Post has realized. Christopher Sadowski

Cohen’s company is slated to stop distributing mags on Feb. 7, a source with data of the matter told The Post on Friday. That means glossies will no longer be obtainable in varied Hudson News areas in the Tri-State Area — including at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports — barring intervention from an outdoors occasion.

“It’s basically a death blow for glossy magazines that rely more on airport terminal sales,” said a source with data of the matter.

After years of struggles for the magazine business, another source remarked: “It’s like an asteroid killing off the dinosaurs.”

The first source added that a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars} are at stake for publishers, whose print journal companies have already shrunk massively as customers decide to get their news online and advertisers have pulled back their spending in recent times.

Law firm Strauss Borelli is currently investigating whether or not the company’s layoff announcement marked a violation of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires employers to offer 60 days’ discover of mass firings or plant closures.

Publishers’ fears have been sparked after Hudson News Distributors informed the New Jersey Department of Labor in mid-December that it was shedding 236 staff in its Parsippany, NJ, headquarters. Hudson Capital Properties

“There will be lawsuits,” a publishing source predicted, including that Cohen might file for chapter, leaving publishers and staff in the lurch.

“The publishers and drivers in their unions will get screwed,” the source said, speculating that drivers might get stiffed out of their pension advantages

Meanwhile, publishers might lose out on money they’re still owed from the sale of their mags, the individual said. In the event of a chapter, Cohen’s business might keep away from sharing funds it collected from retailers however hasn’t yet paid to publishers, the source said.

Cohen didn’t reply to requests for remark from The Post.

Magazines like People that are more tied to weekly newsstand sales will probably really feel the affect if Hudson News stops promoting glossies in the Tri-State Area. LightRocket by way of Getty Images

The Post has sought remark from the Newspaper and Mail Deliveries Union, which represents Hudson News Distrbutors’ staff.

Cohen sold his family’s Hudson Group, best known for the Hudson News brand, in 2020 to Switzerland-based Dufry, with the billionaire retaining the journal and newspaper distributor. Hudson News operates over 1,000 shops across North America. In the Tri-State space, the company has 14 areas, according to the company’s web site.

A 3rd publishing source said that while it sounds astounding for magazines to turn into unavailable in New York-area airports and other transportation hubs, glossies have slowly been transferring off the newsstand shelf for some time.

Insiders anticipate publishers to sue Cohen if his distribution arm recordsdata for chapter. Getty Images

“It won’t kill the business,” the individual said, noting that airport newsstands have trimmed down their journal stock immensely and are largely promoting “book-a-zines” or particular points that have a long-shelf life these days.

Still, glossies like People that are more tied to weekly newsstand sales will really feel the affect, insiders said.

A source with entry to newsstand data said that the gossip journal sells between 70,000 and 100,000 copies a week. At its top, People bought about 3 million per week in 1977, with some blockbuster covers promoting over 1.3 million copies, according to the Alliance for Audited Media.

While the loss of Hudson News sales might create a small dent in People’s backside line, a third source said the blow might be deadly.

“This could take them all out,” the individual said of print magazines on the whole.

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