The Future of Print

Your favorite newspaper or business magazine may soon be an online-only. Earlier this year we blogged about the Electronic Enlightenment and how a number of periodicals are going digital; a few weeks ago we blogged about the Downsizing of Column Inches as the Rocky Mountain News closed their doors after 150 years.

Industry publications are not immune to this trend, according to a BtoB Magazine article nearly 300 publications have closed since January 2007. Sean Callahan’s article, What does future hold for Print? recounts MediaFinder data listing 137 closings in 2007, 120 in 2008 and over 20 in the first quarter of 2009. Fortunately there is a silver lining, some of the “stop press” activity hasn’t resulted in the full closing of the magazine – many have just shifted dollars toward online while others have consolidated weaker publications and reintroduced a stronger, united publication.

This begs the question, are these closings the result of the economy, consumer mindset or both – are you more prone to read online or in print? Comments are welcome.

Your favorite newspaper or business magazine may soon be an online-only. Earlier this year we blogged about the Electronic Enlightenment and how a number of periodicals are going digital; a few weeks ago we blogged about the Downsizing of Column Inches as the Rocky Mountain News closed their doors after 150 years.

Industry publications are not immune to this trend, according to a BtoB Magazine article nearly 300 publications have closed since January 2007. Sean Callahan’s article, What does future hold for Print? recounts MediaFinder data listing 137 closings in 2007, 120 in 2008 and over 20 in the first quarter of 2009. Fortunately there is a silver lining, some of the “stop press” activity hasn’t resulted in the full closing of the magazine – many have just shifted dollars toward online while others have consolidated weaker publications and reintroduced a stronger, united publication.

This begs the question, are these closings the result of the economy, consumer mindset or both – are you more prone to read online or in print? Comments are welcome.

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