MIT Technology Review Cuts Print Schedule For Online Emphasis, New Publisher

Technology Review’s pumped-up 11-issue schedule didn’t last long. The print edition will switch to bimonthly under the direction of Jason Pontin, who succeeds departing R. Bruce Journey as publisher while remaining editor-in-chief. The site will be relaunched in November. I’m a little bemused by a statement from Ann Wolpert, chairman of the board of governors: “The increased focus on electronic publishing is an innovation that will better meet the needs of our readership. About 325,000 unique visitors view technologyreview.com per month. About 300,000 people subscribe to the print magazine.”
Meanwhile, the magazine is still selling subscriptions for 12 issues a year. Limited online access requires registration; premium access requires a print or digital subscription. Update: Just saw this piece by Hiawatha Bray quoting magazine expert Samir Husni “If you cannot sustain being in print, you can’t have a viable Internet site.” That’s a little too glib for me — some publications that don’t have a viable print model can survive and even thrive online. But I would agree that any publication that can’t form a coherent and compelling vision offline isn’t likely to translate online.

Related: Industry Moves: New Editor For MIT’s Technology Review

Comments have been disabled for this post