Last night at The Atlantic Monthly’s 24/7 Celebrity panel, Richard Johnson, editor of  The New York Post’s Page Six, spoke about the recent closure of PageSix.com, reports AdAge. 

“Its attempt at a stand-alone website for Page Six failed this week because it joined the online game too late…not because of any drop in demand for celebrity gossip.  Demand is definitely still growing, Johnson said.  “It’s the Page Six-ification of America.”

 Last week, Rupert Murdoch pulled the plug on PageSix.com.

I’ve been wondering why this story hasn’t received more play in the media press?   Arguably the most influential gossip column in the country shuts down its web site after only three months and its barely mentioned anywhere?

I spoke to a few media insiders and the consensus was pretty unanimous.   PageSix.com never really “gained any traction” and was not known for ”breaking news.”   One insider told me that no one in the industry “ever took it too seriously.”

On a positive note, one editorial veteran spoke to CoverAwards and said “What a relief it was that they had turned down PageSix.com’s job offer.”  Cheers to that!

This was an operation that was actively courting talent throughout the industry for months and was not shy about throwing around big salaries to get the right people!

So, there’s more behind this move than Col Allen is letting on.  There’s no way Rupert Murdoch would closed down the site so quickly because of the economy, as was stated by a PageSix.com spokesperson.  What’s the real story?  

My prediction again is that Rupert Murdoch will be acquiring a major gossip site!

We’ll keep you posted as we learn more so stay tuned!

“Given the difficulty in the economy, it was not the right time for this launch,” said Jennifer Jehn, senior vice president of pagesix.com tells WWD.  For more details, click here.

Today PageSix.com closed it’s doors begging the question who’s next?

Sliding numbers on the newsstand coupled with a troubling economy is making everyone freak out!

Who do you think is next?  You tell us!

PageSix.com launched in December and it’s already closing it’s doors!

Is it because of low traffic?  Is it because of infighting?  Is it because of lack of ad support?

All of these probably played a factor in Rupert Murdoch’s decision.  

However, the biggest reason PageSix.com died so quickly is because of the way this venture was structured from day one!   Sources tell me the online staff was working separately from the newspaper’s staff.  When you have two groups fighting for the same news, there’s no reason for them to support each other.

In my opinion, one person needed to oversee both operations in order for the new online version to become a success.  

This structural mistake has been made consistently throughout the past ten years by big media companies.  They say, hey, let’s get serious about starting up an Internet division of one of our popular brands and then they create a completely separate business.   That’s an ass-backwards approach!  

Hopefully, other media companies will look to this and stop making the same mistake.

According to insiders, “The whole staff was cleaned out today. The Post is telling everyone that they are retooling, but in actuality the site has no future. Slow reactions to breaking news and inner office turmoil” are some of the reasons the site failed.

My prediction: Expect Rupert Murdoch to make a major purchase on an online celebrity news operation!