Does geography matter. You bet. Iowa? We're outta here...

There have been many examples of big companies buying smaller, funky titles and then promptly tamping them into a corporate mould, thereby losing the very things that made them work. There have been some Canadian examples (does anyone remember Harrowsmith being acquired by Telemedia?)

But there has rarely been a case like ReadyMade magazine, a San Franciso independent much beloved of its audience, acquired in mid-2006 by giant Meredith Corp. (Better Homes & Gardens etc.).

As part of its plan to cut and consolidate staffs, Meredith (which suffered a 50% profit decline in the first six months of its fiscal year) ordered ReadyMade -- a title with a decidedly west coast sensibility -- to move to the high corn of Des Moines, Iowa, Meredith's headquarters. According to a story in SF Gate, a site operated by the San Francisco Chronicle, all the half-dozen staff member, including the founders, Shoshana Berger and Grace Hawthorne (shown), quit rather than move.