There have been whispers in the publishing world for months now about a group solution to the print problem, in which all of the big dogs -- including Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith and Time Inc. -- would come together to offer competitive marketplace solutions to widespread magazine woes. First, there was the leaked Time Inc. memos that considered a publishers partnership to compete with Amazon's Kindle, followed by an Observer piece floating even more details of the mag world Voltron. (more...)

Some of the biggest rivals in magazine publishing are close to a deal that would combine their forces in an effort to resuscitate a dying print industry. Titans of the media world -- including Condé Nast, Heart and Time Inc. -- are working to form an alliance that would recreate magazines for a digital age, in a plan that includes new mobile iterations sold in an iTunes-like store, as well as print magazines, according a report in The Observer. It's like a publisher's version of Voltron. (more...)