In the news: A British Hearst-owned magazine extends its branding, and its editorial vision, to a brick-and-mortar establishment.

Brand licensing is nothing new, but magazines are experimenting with the concept in new and interesting ways. Take, for instance, British magazine Country Living, which has entered a brand licensing partnership with Coast & Country Hotels to open two hotels (in Bath and Harrogate). Lucinda Southern of Digiday.com reports, "Coast & Country Hotels, part of Shearings Leisure Group, first started working with Hearst over a year ago on display advertising campaigns for its range of 22 hotels across the U.K. Several sites needing renovation sparked the idea to redesign them under the Country Living brand."

It's not just the brand name that these hotels carry; magazine staffers have worked to ensure that the establishments themselves jibe with the Country Living brand. "Details from the landscaping to the menu and interior design had been decided by the Country Living editorial team, led by Susy Smith, group editorial director," writes Lucinda Southern of Digiday.com.

Read more here.

Also Notable

Layoffs at Buzzfeed, Gannett, and Verizon

Last week saw roughly 1,000 media employees lose their jobs. Among those cut were editors, writers, and journalists. Hardest hit, according to Amanda Arnold of New York magazine's TheCut.com, were Buzzfeed, which cut 15 percent of its workforce; Gannett, which laid off approximately 400; and Verizon's media arm (which includes HuffPost), which let go 7 percent of its staffers. Read more here.

A Story Spiked

The Atlantic made headlines recently with its blockbuster investigative piece on allegations against director Bryan Singer. The allegations themselves are only half the story; also of note is the fact that the piece had originally been slated for publication in Esquire. After the story had been vetted and approved for publication there, Hearst executives killed the story for reasons unknown. The writers took the story to The Atlantic, which vetted and then published it. Read more about the incident here.

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