The Source in the Hour of the Wolf

According to Jeff Bercovici at WWD (2nd Item):

"The news at The Source continues to be the pits. A circulation audit released Monday shows the formerly hot hip-hop title missed its rate base for the 12 months ending June 30, 2003. The Source�s average circulation of 485,817 was 0.3 percent below its average rate base for the period of 487,500. After making rate base for four of six issues in the latter half of 2002, The Source raised its circulation guarantee, to 500,000 from 475,000, causing it to miss rate base for five of the next six issues."

Raising magazine circulation guarantee in the sluggish 2002 economy? bad move.

"The magazine, which sells more than two-thirds of its copies on newsstands, overstated single-copy sales for 11 of 12 issues by an average of 4.1 percent. The Source overreported its total circulation by 1.8 percent � just shy of the 2 percent mark that triggers automatic inclusion in the Audit Bureau of Circulation�s variance report. According to the magazine�s most recent publisher�s statement, The Source did make its rate base for second-half 2003 � by a scant 253 copies, a margin of 0.05 percent. But the statement itself was filed late to ABC, often a sign of trouble. Several calls to the magazine � which reportedly faces lawsuits from a slew of creditors over nonpayment � were not returned."