Today's headline article in the New Zealand Herald of "How pandemic ripped heart out of beloved mags" just shows how some companies are using this Covid19 pandemic to make sudden changes. As the artcle by Damien Venuto  states  " Early studies have shown that coronacirus can be especially dangerous for those with pre-existing conditions. It appears that the same rule holds true for businesses judging from Covid-19's first big scalp (in NZ) : (German Based) magazine publisher Bauer. 

With advertising revenue falling off a cliff and lockdown rules precluding magazines from operating under (Covid-19) alert level 4, the publisher made a quick-fire call to pull out of New Zealand". 

The news was broken to staff by internal email yesterday morning denying staff the consultation usual with such big decisions. As Damien states "If this shows one thing , it's that a crisis functions as a powerful accelerator. Its a ferocious shove in the back of a business that was steadiliy moving in that direction anyway. The (New Zealand) magazine industry has been in trouble for years. We have seen a steady stream of closures among titles that once rulled the magazines isles."

Furthermore " A crisis also gives company owners leverage to make a call that would be tremendously controversial under any other circumstances. Bauer's (German) owners have used Covid-19 as an opportunity to put aside the carving knife and opt instead for a sledgehammer and put the entire thing to bed." Around 250 jobs have been lost and seen the demise of magazine that have been around for decades and some as far back as 1939, for instance the much loved The Listener . While, Womens Weekly, Metro, North & South are just some of the other magazines to dissapear.

These losses aren't felt in the moment an all staff email hits an inbox. They're felt in the silence that comes afterwards..

So this story may be about a business closure in a place far, far away from where you live. But take note; ..... as Covid-19 continues to wreck havoc it could soon be replicated right where you live... tomorrow ..... or  next week.