Speculation has been rife for months that the magazine was in trouble, after it emerged last year that Hearst was looking to get out of the joint venture.
Tina Brown, the former New Yorker and Vanity Fair editor, told staff of the magazine's closure on Friday, blaming its fall on the downturn in the advertising market, which was further exacerbated by the September 11 terrorist attacks.
A statement released by Talk said: "We all had to recognise that September 11 changed everything. It made it virtually impossible for a standalone title like Talk."
It is thought that Hearst had been looking to pull out before the September 11 attacks and at one stage it was reported that its stake might be sold. Telegraph Group owner Lord Conrad Black was one of those linked to taking over Hearst's stake.
However, the tough climate scared off potential backers and Miramax could not afford to go it alone. Other potential backers Miramax is thought to have spoken to include Time Inc and David Pecker, the CEO of American Media, the supermarket tabloid group that owns the National Enquirer, Globe, Weekly World News and Sun.
The magazine's February issue, which is already on newsstands, will be the magazine's last. It was launched in August 1999 at a glitzy New York party in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.
Talk closes with a circulation of 670,000 and advertising revenues that increased by 6% in 2001. While this compares well with the average fall of around 12% suffered by most of the US market, it was not enough to keep the magazine afloat.
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