Cafe, Mira! magazines shut down

The economic recession has forced the publishers of Café magazine to pull the plug on its print edition.

December’s issue is the last one for the Latino lifestyle magazine, which is published out of Chicago. But there will be a continued presence of Café online.

Portada reports the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Alejandro Riera explains the decision to shut down in the letter from the editor: “The usual suspect is responsible for this abrupt end: the challenges of raising the additional capital to keep this operation up and running in the middle of a recession.”

Café was launched in October of 2008. It had a circulation of 45,000 in Chicago.

Also shutting down: Mira! published by American Media, the parent company of the National Enquirer. The December 27th issue, already in newsstands, is its last.

The Spanish-language entertainment tabloid suffered from weakened ad sales and the troubles facing its parent company, which filed for bankruptcy in November. American Media exited bankruptcy yesterday.

According to the Media Economics Group blog, Mira! last year tried to adapt to lower advertising activity by reducing its rate base and increasing its publication frequency from 26 to 52 issues a year in 2009 and 2010.