No Mardi Gras Issue for NW
A sign of the times? NW magazine will not be publishing a special Mardi Gras supplement this year, after last year’s Mardi Gras issue drew poorer than expected sales. NW produced a 16-page Mardi Gras supplement in 2000 and a 24-page supplement last year, but this week editor Louisa Hatfield said that last year’s special edition did not prove to be cost-effective.
Hatfield told Sydney Star Observer that last year’s NW Mardi Gras issue had been a costly exercise with the burden of a late printing fee and additional staff hours. The issue was raced to the printers hours after the parade to be on newsagents shelves on the Monday morning.
It still sold okay, but it wasn’t selling extra to offset the costs involved, Hatfield said. There was also a feeling that Mardi Gras was too Sydney-centric an event for a national magazine, she added.
It’s a great shame. It’s a fabulous event and a thing of huge interest to our readers, Hatfield said.
The 2000 Mardi Gras had generated a huge amount of excitement, an atmosphere that seemed slightly diminished last year, she said. Although NW will not be running a special supplement this year, it will still feature photos from the parade and party in the 11 March edition, Hatfield said.
