I’ve got a few questions for American magazine publishers:

Are you in or are you out?

Do you still believe in the very act, the very business, of publishing?

And do you still believe in presenting carefully selected words and pictures–expertly produced information–for a targeted audience?

Lately, some companies seem to be answering yes–for instance, Ziff-Davis, which announced last week that it is discontinuing its PC Magazine as a print product but has been investing in its Internet strategy and is therefore ready and able to continue publishing the title on the Web.

Read the rest of this post

The January 2009 issue of PC Magazine will mark a monumental transition for the publication. It is the last printed edition of this venerable publication. Of course, as with any technology-related enterprise, this is not the end, but the beginning of something exciting and new. Starting in February 2009, PC Magazine will become a 100-percent digital publication.

Read the rest of this post

I say we’re on the road to ruin. It’s one panic after another, and with each new stopgap plan, the music industry–really the entire digital content industry–digs itself in deeper. Music lovers are dancing in the streets as one major music company, online music service and online retail outlet after another walks away from onerous digital rights management restrictions. They’ll sell you DRM-free music, as long as you accept lower audio quality. Bands like Radiohead and Coldplay are even letting consumers set their own prices.

Read the rest of this post