An Empty Portfolio

The economy continues to affect the media. Portfolio – Conde Nast’s venture into a business magazine for journalism, has closed, with the May issue being its last. Meanwhile, sad times have befallen Idolator.com.

Portfolio, which debuted April 2007, is the newest title in a troubled category, according to Crain’s New York Business. More than 85 employees will reportedly be let go.

“The recession has helped and hurt the brand,” publisher David Carey told Crain’s. “While the unprecedented nature of these times has made business and the economy the main topic of conversation, it has also led to high levels of uncertainty and a tremendous reduction in ad spend.”

Meanwhile, music news aggregator Idolator.com has quickly imploded.

“As you might have noticed, this is a bittersweet week around here; because of budget cuts, we’ve had to say goodbye to pretty much all the Idolator contributing writers, from columnists to daily bloggers,” the Web site read April 27. “The site is going to go on as a solo project of sorts, although the news cycle might run at a slightly slower pace.”