Surprise: Gourmet's Readers Not Jumping to Other Food Mags

Six months after Gourmet was shut down by Conde Nast, the New York Times takes a look at the post-Gourmet food magazine landscape. The conclusion? "The Gourmet readership and ad base seem to have largely vanished. And as the high-end magazines fight over the leftovers of Gourmet, it’s the mass food magazines that seem to be feasting."

Food & Wine and Saveur aren't reporting major upticks, and although Gourmet subscribers were automatically switched to Bon Appétit, they cautiously decided to add only 200,000 subscribers to their rate base. Gourmet had over 900,000 subscribers, so where did they all go?

Were Gourmet's offerings so unique that its readers can't find a competent replacement? Did Conde Nast do itself a major disservice by casting off a specific readership (read: wealthy), letting them loose on the internet to fulfill their needs?

Meanwhile the more mass-market magazines like Food Network Magazine (1.25 mil), Every Day With Rachael Ray (1.79 mil), and Taste of Home (3.2 mil) — or what the Times calls "lower-end" magazines (uh, ouch?) — are all doing very well, thank you very much.

· Gourmet’s Fans Accept No Stand-Ins [NYT]