Wizard Magazine and the art of job destruction etiquette

Hats off this month to the wonderful people who head up Wizard in the U.S.

Let's cull a magazine (in this case Anime Insider) yesterday, and sack everyone without warning. Well, sack the editorial staff in New York, anyway. For those of us writers outside the center of the universe, we're just forgotten.

Nice one, mates.

I found out the news an hour ago from a vital anime company here in Tokyo, who in turn found out the news via an anime online chat forum—despite the fact I've been the magazine's Tokyo Correspondent for 5 years.

I now have to swallow the remains of my shredded-up pride and apologize to several dozen other anime companies in Japan for promises that'll never now be honoured, and a series of articles and interviews that will never be printed. Oh yeah, and there's a big chance I'll never be paid for these finished articles, nor reimbursed for the translation work on one of them.

Prove me wrong here, Wizard.

And when are you actually going to let me know I'm out of a job, mates? Pink slips too expensive in your new budget? Never wised-up to e-mail technology?

Nice, professional work, and kudos all round. Thanks for offering your own bit of unthinking Scrooge-ism in this crazy financial period.

R.I.P. Anime Insider magazine—and genuine respect to all those who put in, worked on it, loved the mag, bought it, and made it something 67 issues special...