Reader’s Digest has filed for bankruptcy protection

Once upon a time, Reader’s Digest was a staple in many American households. Well, maybe I’m over exaggerating, but I know that every time I walked into my grandmother’s house she definitely had the newest copy sitting on her coffee table. And, to a five year old, if my grandmother had every single copy, it just had to be an American staple.

Well, now that magazine that I grew up around has filed for bankruptcy protection. Facing debt payments and the decline of print in an internet age, Reader’s Digest simply couldn’t keep up. The magazine’s readership numbers have been declining since the 1970’s.

The magazine’s publisher expects the company to emerge from bankruptcy in 45 to 90 days.

The company piled on debt following a $1.6 billion leveraged buyout in 2007 by investors led by Ripplewood Holdings LLC, a New York private equity firm, to take Reader’s Digest private. In such a transaction, investors typically borrow heavily to acquire a company, betting that operations would generate enough cash to cover the debt payments.

I would like to see the magazine stick around simply because it’s something that I associate with my childhood (and doctor’s offices for some reason). It would be kind of sad to see something like that just disappear forever. I feel the same way about other things though too, not just this magazine. When I found out that Nickelodeon studios in Orlando had become something else, I was actually quite sad because when I was young I always wanted to visit it and see the slime fountain.

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