PC Magazine Closing Print Edition, Staying Online Only

by Tim Stevens on November 19, 2008 at 01:39 PM

Woe betide the print publications of the world -- the Internet is here, stealing your subscribers, and it's not going to go away. Adapt or die is the mantra of the newspapers and pulpy journals of the world, and Ziff Davis is the latest trying to do just that, stopping print publication of the venerable PC Magazine, in favor of an exclusively online publication.

Founded in 1982, the magazine is following in the (very recent) footsteps of the Christian Science Monitor, which is also moving to an online model. PC Magazine, which used to print editions in excess of 500 pages in the heydays of the industry, back in the late '80s and '90s, will print its last edition in January of 2009. After that, the only place to get the word from the original source of PC news and reviews will be online.

So, PC collectors with a closet full of old, beige hardware, you may want to get to the bookstore in the near future -- your tome of choice won't be around for much longer. Not to worry too much, though, since you've probably been reading PC Mag online for years, anyway, and it doesn't look like that part is going anywhere.

The sad part, though, is just how fast all these magazines are shutting down. Check out our gallery below of five titles that have recently moved online only -- four out of five of them have announced the plans in the last couple of months alone. Though now make our living writing for the Web, we have to admit that we still like bringing the occasional newspaper or magazine when we're on, say, an airplane or bus (after all, that Amazon Kindle isn't cheap!).

What do you think? Do you still read magazines? Which do you prefer for news and articles: magazines or Web sites? [From: Paid Content]

Death of Print

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, death of print, DeathOfPrint, magazines, old media, OldMedia, pc magazine, PcMagazine, print magazines, PrintMagazines

Comments

jackNov 19th 2008 8:24PM

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I quit reading this rag over 20 years ago.

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BeccaNov 19th 2008 8:53PM

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I prefer print media. love my mags!

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JimNov 19th 2008 9:06PM

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Uhhh... What's a PC Magazine? Seriously, how geeked out do you have to be to read this rag versus 1 billion others when sitting on the hopper???!!!??? Come on, people.... Get a life and a BOOK!

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TinaNov 19th 2008 11:16PM

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Too many adverstisments in mags anymore & I quit buying them. No stories too much ads...Piss off.

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dstrgalNov 19th 2008 11:36PM

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"It's Only Presence Will Be Online"

Who writes your copy? Might want to go back and check your punctuation rules!

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Morgan J. RirieNov 20th 2008 12:23AM

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I found out from my son that you are discontinuing the printed version. I still like to read magazines and subscribe to about ten different ones depending on the theme subjects, eg., scientific American, Discovery, etc. etc. I will miss PC Mag. and will need prompting to remind me to look it up on the web. If this trend continues, We will all get large behinds because that is the part of us that will get all of the exercise. The mailman reminds us of our subscription now as he or she drops it in the mailbox. I am sorry to see it happen even though I understand the dilemma. I will always prefer the printed copy. I spend too much time now on the computer.

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Caspar HauserNov 20th 2008 5:19PM

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I am an environmentalist. This is crap about cutting trees down. What the hell has all the paper recycling been about......Besides we do not need to use trees to make paper. We can use cotton rags or linen......hemp can be used to make paper. So can Bamboo and corn stalks. And what about all the jobs that will be lost when the paper manufacturer lays off all the employees at their company. What about the drivers that deliver the paper . What about the printing companies what will lay off all its employees when everything goes online........Total Breakdown of economic infrastructure. People we all pay each others wages in this economy......Cut enough things and we are all out of work.

Besides its a lot easier and enjoyable to read a book or paper the format for online magazines makes it hard to scan and read. I am online all the time and all I can say it that I do not enjoy reading online.

Most people do not read, period! If they were not reading papers and magazines before they certainly are not going to go to the internet to get any news or information!

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HIRAMNov 20th 2008 12:16AM

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ITS TIME TO GET RID OF THE PAPER TRAIL AN GO GREEN. SAVE A TREE, FOREST. THANK-U.

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thomas e hill jrNov 21st 2008 1:38AM

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no coments

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gogreenNov 20th 2008 2:01PM

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so glad to hear they are going green!

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DarkLightNov 23rd 2008 10:29PM

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Late to the party here..

I differ from you all.

I prefer to read on the screen than on paper.

Reading on paper makes my eyes hurt, and always makes me thirsty for some reason... Also, I barely have space for all my electronics/pro audio/computer stuff, I wouldn't know what to do with books/magazines after I read them

Also the online content is, by far, much better than what you can read in books (if you know what to search for, that is).. The news are newer and more informative than those of magazines. Especially computer news.. Isn't it logical that the best computer news are in the computers themselves?

If you get any ache form using the computer, it's not the computer's fault, the problem is in your furniture and/or the way you have your monitor/keyboard/mouse/chair arranged.
Get something more ergonomic, or rearrange it so that it feels more natural.

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M PrindleDec 19th 2008 3:34PM

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Sorry, I spend enough time in front of a computer as it is. I like to take a magazine (PCMag, Pop Sci, and others) set on the couch or other places. I do have to say that I haven't paid for a sub to this mag in over 4 years. I keep my eyes out for the free subs and get it that way so at least there is no money out of my pocket.

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