Razor taps out

[gonzo]

RAZOR CUTS ITS LOSSES: Another ill-differentiated men's magazine has gone quietly into the night. Razor magazine notified its staff last Thursday that it has suspended publication. The five-year-old title was based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and had an advertising sales office in New York. Razor publisher Richard Botto did not respond to messages on Friday, but an employee who asked not to be quoted confirmed the shutdown.

Though both Botto and Craig Knight, Razor's founding editor in chief, had backgrounds running adult Web sites, Razor defined itself in opposition to, rather than as part of, the wave of "lad" magazines that began with Maxim's 1997 arrival in the U.S. It aligned itself with the likes of GQ, Details and Esquire, though it lacked their editorial quality. Signs of trouble have been apparent for some time. Razor's circulation peaked in 2003 at just 247,748. It plunged in the second half of last year, after Botto fired Knight and took over as editor in chief. Razor joins the likes of Ramp, Gear, P.O.V. and Icon on the independent men's magazine ash heap.
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Interesting