Outside Magazine may be dead

[Inky_Wretch]

Twenty staff members were laid off last week. Only one full-time print editor and three online editors remain - along with a bunch of part-time or contract "content creators."

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2025/02/outside-owner-lays-off-large-percentage-of-magazine-staff/

This is a damn shame, because for a lot of years Outside was one of the best magazines - even for people who weren't rock climbers or ski bums or training to climb Everest.

 

[swingline]

The like is for your second paragraph. Great writing in my car garage waiting for the oil change to be done.

 

[SixToe]

Keyes and Hostetter got whacked? Kind of sounds like maybe they didn't want to become conduits on the "read this, use our travel service to book" route. Or they just got whacked to save nickels.

Geez.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Thurston also told AMO he plans to take the company public in three to four years.

They're forked.

 

[SixToe]

How do you not put Outside on the block, separately, and see if someone buys it?

It's one of the best known general interest (for outdoors) publications. They've done some great work. They're trusted. Reviews are solid and not suck-up blowjobs like "I took this $800 tent to the state park for a night and it's great!" Investigations. Weird shirt. Cultural, topical, all the things.

And you just gut it? That's right out of the newspaper playbook. The only thing missing is the "We'll have a leaner, streamlined staff still doing quality journalism and serving the community" bullshirt, though they came close.

 

[Twirling Time]

This magazine is one of the definite survivors in a tough world. Hate to see this.

 

[WriteThinking]

Outside is one of the best magazines there is -- consistently one of the good things going on in journalism/media these days. There are precious few of those now, and, seemingly, fewer every day.

 

[TigerVols]

How do you not put Outside on the block, separately, and see if someone buys it?

It's one of the best known general interest (for outdoors) publications. They've done some great work. They're trusted. Reviews are solid and not suck-up blowjobs like "I took this $800 tent to the state park for a night and it's great!" Investigations. Weird shirt. Cultural, topical, all the things.

And you just gut it? That's right out of the newspaper playbook. The only thing missing is the "We'll have a leaner, streamlined staff still doing quality journalism and serving the community" bullshirt, though they came close.

They're doing this because no one wants to consume journalism anymore anywhere; at least not at a level that allows for a profit.

 

[John]

The best of Outside over the years is about as good as any magazine's best. A damn shame what's happened to it. If you ever read Tim Cahill's great stories in there from 20-40 years ago, many of them are in the awesome collections he put out, all with names like Jaguars Ripped My Flesh.

 

[MileHigh]

Agree with the sentiment about Outside. Here's a deeper story about what's going on there.

https://coloradosun.com/2025/02/18/outside-inc-adds-inntopia/

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Yeah they're forked.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

"There is going to be a lot of activity at the intersection of retailers and specialty lifestyle publishing. What is happening at Outside may be the first time many people read about this blending of commerce of media, but it will not be the last."

I buy ads in specialty lifestyle magazines and websites. It's a damn dirty business. We could introduce a revolutionary new product in our category and those mags wouldn't write a single word about it unless we buy ads. It's all pay for play and has been for many years.