The Adevărul group closes Historia magazine after 25 years of publication. While the management cites the decline in sales, the founder of the title, the journalist Ion Cristoiu, accuses the management's lack of communication, according to Pagina de Media.
The last physical issue of Historia magazine is due out on May 15. After this date, the publication will continue its existence exclusively online, the editor-in-chief Ion M. Ioniţă announced for the quoted source.
The editorial team numbers about ten people. With the closing of the printed edition, some of them will stop collaborating with the Adevărul group, owned by Cristian Burci.
The editor-in-chief Ion M. Ioniță explained the decision to stop the printed edition of the magazine: “The motivation was very clear: the decline in sales. It was seen starting from the pandemic, when the press distribution also decreased a lot. There is no way to deal with the situation without a massive infusion of capital. We had the strength to resist much longer.”
He specified that Historia will continue online: “We will continue to be active on the site, to offer readers information related to history.”
Cristoiu: “No one from the management called me”
Ion Cristoiu, who founded Historia in the early 2000s, told Pagina de Media that he was not consulted about the decision.
“It was normal, before a decision was made, to talk to us, the editorial team: there are problems, this is the situation, we have to make cuts. But you can't tell the team directly that the title is closing. I don't know, maybe we could find or come up with a possible solution.”
He emphasized the lack of communication from the management: “At least out of politeness, I think it was normal to call. No one from the management called me, only Ion M. Ioniţă called me and told me that the decision had been made.”
“Ion Cristoiu also said that “it's a shame”, because Historia is a very important brand. “Maybe it's worth buying,” he added.
Historia magazine was founded in 2001 by Ion Cristoiu and Vlad Pufu, being taken over in 2009 by the Adevărul Holding trust. At that time, Ion Cristoiu motivated the sale by the lack of development possibilities.
Currently, the publication was led by Ion Cristoiu (director) and Ion M. Ioniță (editor-in-chief), achieving a circulation record in 2017, with 50,000 copies dedicated to King Mihai.
And the magazine Evenimentul Istoric, owned by Dan Andronic, suspends its publication. The decision is described as a “strategic transformation” forced by high production and distribution costs. The publication will continue its activity exclusively digitally, in the “Secret History” section on the evz.ro website.
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