Audit report raises questions

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept 1, 1995 by Jenna Schnuer

When Gruner Jahr USA Publishing acquired The New York Times Co.'s women's magazines last year, it inherited a situation it didn't quite bargain for: a circulation deficit of more than 50,000 on American HomeStyle for the first six months of 1994. Filings with the Audit Bureau of Circulations claimed an average paid circulation of 701,509--but internal documents received by FOLIO: show an average of 646,473. The memos also suggest that players at both the Times Co. and G J were aware of the discrepancy and decided to file an inaccurate statement.

G J president and CEO John Heins says the filing was prepared by the Times Co. and that when the problem was discovered, it was too late for G J to do anything about it. (The acquisition was July 26; ABC statements were due July 30.) "I was in the loop too late to have an impact on it," says Heins. "The only decision to make was how we compensate [advertisers]." G J spokeswoman Andrea Kaplan says American HomeStyle's most recent audit report--scheduled for release in late August--shows that the title (now American HomeStyle & Gardening) made ratebase for the year. But the ABC pinksheet shows only a 7,403 gain above ratebase, still leaving a deficit of about 50,000 copies for 1994.

While Gruner Jahr says it doesn't blame The New York Times Co., "the consistency and quality of information we had for the first six months of 1994 was inconsistent and unclear," says Kaplan. Times Co. spokespeople deferred all questions to Gruner Jahr.