What's black and white and read all over...

Last week publishing titan Conde Nast announced that their high-end decorating magazine Domino was done with, due to very low ad sales. Also gone the way of the dinosaur is Jane magazine, House & Garden, and other variety special interests glossies. The newspaper industry is also sinking like a lead balloon. Tribune Co., which owns LA Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday filed for bankruptcy, and the 146 year-old Seattle Post Intelligencer and Rocky Mountain News have closed their doors forever. Locally, the Tampa Tribune has been busy laying off staff as has the St. Pete Times, which disappointed me when we moved here, as I have always wanted to write for the Times. In general, the news publishing industry is failing miserably due to several factors, and I think it stinks.
One of my greatest personal pleasures is picking up a crisply folded city paper wherever we have lived and enjoy reading the news over a cup of hot coffee. The ink smell is like an aphrodisiac to my need- to -know personality, and different sections of the paper appeal to whatever mood I'm in. How nice it is to have the jabbering tv off, and just read. Magazines have the same appeal. I subscribe to three, and love getting something in the old-fashioned snail mail box that I can take to the beach, the gym, or read at night. Usually I read a book about 2 hours every night before sleep, and save the magazines for daytime distraction. There is something nice about having convenient entertainment that has nothing to do with the tv or internet. Which leads us to the causes of this sad slow demise...
The most obvious problem is our slower economy. Which won't last forever. When I worked at Hot 107 during 9/11 ad sales were the first thing to go. People panic during economic hardships and publishing ad sales being already inflated as they are, are quick to get cut. The other factor is the internet. I can go to free blogs and websites to find news on music, decorating, houses for sale, political debates, random bits of information. Most people do this now, without it even being a big deal. Ten years ago in ethics in journalism class, my professor said to watch out, because the internet would take over news and entertainment. We knew it to be true, but at that time, not even all of us students owned our own pc's, it was still considered a luxury item, not a necessity. It's weird to remember that turning point in time- the mid to 90's, when you had to load up AOL to get online....It was just easier still to turn on tv, or read the papers to get fast news (and pick up the phone to contact friends).
So....if you really love your Rolling Stone (which by the way, recently changed it's infamous large print size down to "regular" size), get your subscriptions now and store them a in a nice, dry place for your grandchildren to have. Especially treasure the niche magazines and newspapers, because those are going first. With a shrinking subsription base and ad revenue, they will be icons of a bygone era of entertainment. When your children ask....what's this "myspace" thing your generation keeps reminsicing about, smile and bring out your old Esquire issues, your Brill Reports, your Martha Stewart Living, throw in a few Wall Street Journals, and say- this! This is what used to be cool!