PC Magazine, Ziff Davis' flagship print publication, has announced that it will go 100% digital. The January 2008 issue will mark the end of PC Magazine's print edition after 27 years of continuous publication. Instead of the print version, PC Magazine will start publishing a digital version of the magazine, 'PC Magazine Digital Edition.' Current and new subscribers should see this digital edition appear in their inboxes by February 2009.
PC Magazine has been publishing a digital edition since 2002, but at least in its current version, this digital edition only imitates the print version in its layout, which is definitely not the easiest and most convenient way to read text. Also, the problem for print magazines is not the fact that they are physical objects, but simply the fact that a publication which only appears once a month will always lag behind its online competition, especially in a fast moving business like technology news.
A number of publishers have been experimenting with digital editions similar to PC Magazine's. The New York Times, for example, has its Times Reader application, which allows offline access to the paper. However, in a world where online access is becoming ubiquitous, these products are at best bridges to a pure online experience.
PC Magazine, of course, already has a strong online presence and a number of very interesting blogs and online video shows. The value of PC Magazine often wasn't in its news content anyway, but in its reviews - all of which are available online, without the need to subscribe to a digital edition of the magazine.
While we are glad to see that a quality publication like PC Magazine is taking steps to secure its future, it is not clear to us why PC Magazine would put time and effort into producing a digital edition of its magazine instead of just focusing on the online experience.
Comments
Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all Read/WriteWeb posts
This is a really sad development. I sincerely hope they don't try to create a "digital magazine" as you say.. I've not seen this style work well anywhere. If they instead go 100% "Web" (even with their content entirely behind a pay-wall) then that's a different matter and it might work out.
I think they're missing a trick though. I subscribe to magazines and love receiving something regularly in the mail to read - it's exciting to get magazines each month. I can read while at the airport, waiting for the wife at the mall, or just curled up on the couch. With a "digital magazine", it's still not as convenient, cosy or practical (yet).
Posted by: Peter Cooper | November 19, 2008 11:45 AM
Wow. As a long-time PC Mag subscriber, I've noticed that current issues are about a fifth of the size they were 10 years ago, and there's been a palpable tone of resentment to the Mac's success and Windows bad press in its pages. But I'm a PC, and I enjoy putting away my laptop and browsing through a real magazine while relaxing on the couch. I'll miss it. The digital edition seems silly to me.
Posted by: Matt W | November 19, 2008 11:49 AM
My sentiments exactly. I frequently read the magazine during train rides from LA to San Diego. This sucks. :(
Posted by: chris | November 19, 2008 11:51 AM
Don't sign me up. I read magazines while eating lunch or on the train. Digital just does not work for most people. It's harder to relax and read a computer screen than to curl up with a book or magazine.
Too bad :-(
Posted by: Weazbo | November 19, 2008 12:08 PM
It's sad that its going digital. Other than the fact that a print magazine is way more comfortable to read, digital readers are not mainstream yet.
On the other hand, it will save a lot of paper.
Also, shouldn't that read January 2009, instead of January 2008?
Posted by: Vaibhav | November 19, 2008 12:43 PM
I would love for all printed items to be available on an E-book reader. I don't have one at the moment, but when the prices go down I'll consider it. it would be nice to have all of my books and magazines with me anytime I want without hauling a ton of them around.
Posted by: Gabe Little | November 19, 2008 12:45 PM
I subscribed to the PC Mag digital edition for a couple of years and hated it. The Zinio reader was a pain. You couldn't control where the magazines were stored, which is really bad if your C: drive is pretty full (like mine). You also can't move the magazines to another machine without downloading them all again, which is very tedious. The only upside to the digital edition for me was the ability to search.
Posted by: Glen | November 19, 2008 1:25 PM
The PC is dying and so will PC mag, it's subscription will fall, then to a new low price. Investors beware, by end of Jan/Feb or Mar 2009 the stock market (DOW) will see 6500. Like the big auto industry, who marketed their sales with zero interest and jacked up suggested retail price to recover loss interest. Doesn't work, like many of the CEOs of the biggest companies. Very few if any normally interested persons like subscribr to internet magazines. It's like purchasing a gym membership, then having to bring your weight equipment, meaning if you wish to print out that edition, it'll cost you again for paper, ink and time. That's not adding up to benifiting the consumer. Sort of like food manufacturers short their customers with same looking sized containers, when in fact they add a dimple in the bottom or add height, but less content. Not good for a economic recovery. Oh, how many PC mag employees will be laid off. Hey, PC mag for each laid off employee, that's actually firing a customer. Bright educated business people don't understand that.
Posted by: Odnocer | November 19, 2008 2:19 PM
"it is not clear to us why PC Magazine would put time and effort into producing a digital edition of its magazine instead of just focusing on the online experience."
Because they know people will not pay a fee to access information on their site, they're tied to the idea of subscriptions and they hope that people who subscribe to the print edition will continue to pay to access the digital magazine edition. They're wrong about the last point and in general about being tied to subscriptions. What they're not internalizing is that subscription numbers never fully captured readership - but that IS something that can be measured on a web site. Focus on that and on making money that way.
Posted by: rick | November 19, 2008 3:34 PM
I'm only posting to say farewell to another good magazine.
May you join Cracked in magazine heaven, dear PC Magazine.
Posted by: Nick | November 19, 2008 5:29 PM
Only posting to bid PC Magazine (the print edition I have come to love) a fond farewell. Here's to hoping that PC Magazine will embrace their new challenges in the right way and with great success.
Posted by: Steffan Antonas
|
November 19, 2008 6:46 PM
Yes this is really very sad ,I hope other PC magazines won't follow this very comfortable to printed magazines than digital editions of magazines.
Posted by: venkat | November 19, 2008 9:09 PM
Not a fan of this particular magazine... I do recall it being a powerhouse back in the day though. I would no longer read such a publication if they went a PDFesq route though. If you want to go digital, be digital but don't make the publication look like a magazine. I HATE PDFs or anything that resembles them.
To the people complaining about not having reading material for a train or couch... think of the many bored people on toilets.
Posted by: Anrkist | November 20, 2008 2:13 AM
It's all very well talking about focusing on making money from the web-site, but the point is that you're shifting from an advertising subsidized content model, to a wholly ad-funded one.
In print terms, this is the difference between magazines you pay for, and the free papers.
There's certainly some offset in terms of reaching a larger audience on-line, the question is whether that can make up for the lost revenue to a degree that the 'publisher' can pay journalists an equivalent rate.
Yes, I know Web 2.0 is all about user-generated content and citizen journalism, but take off the rose-tinted glasses and that model is about companies making easy money selling advertising space on top of freely produced content - is it any wonder Google puts so much money into anti-copyright lobbyists.
This is all aside of the fact that Ars Technica and AnandTech replaced PC Magazine for me years ago.
Posted by: JulesLt | November 20, 2008 7:03 AM
I'm a big fan of PC Mag and this news makes me sad.
Posted by: magazine lover | November 21, 2008 2:22 AM
As a long-time PC Mag subscriber, I've noticed that current issues are about a fifth of the size they were 10 years ago, and there's been a palpable tone of resentment to the Mac's success and Windows bad press in its pages
Posted by: unrealircd | November 24, 2008 4:16 AM
Hi frederic,
I believe there's a small typo in your article: 'The January 2008 issue will mark the end of PC Magazine's print edition' ... shouldn't that be January 2009 ?
Just wanted to inform you on this.
Greets Jeroen
Posted by: Jeroen B | November 26, 2008 4:55 AM