It Really is all About the Benjamins: RIP Business 2.0

We were reminded today that what really drives the media is money - not the sharing of ideas, a duty to report or society's need for journalism as a means of enlightenment of the masses. Time Inc. announced that after 9 years on newsstands, Business 2.o will bite the dust. The culprit is shrinking ad revenue in the form of ad pages per issue.

Seems that with issue sales of under a million copies, readers weren't massive enough for the magazine's publisher to deem it "essential."

This is not some pollyanna post bemoaning BIG media or a plea to save a favorite publication (which it was for me and the rest of the 608,237 paid subscribers)...we're smart people us Business 2.0 readers - we know how the world works. Although it is heartening to learn that someone created a Facebook group called "I read Business 2.0...and I want to keep reading!" and 2,300 people signed up.

This post is purely cathartic. I'm acknowledging that I have joined (or rejoined as it is - I "lost" Industry Standard back in 2003...but made my peace with that long ago) that club of widowed readers of REALLY well done magazines...with friends who read the likes of Jane, Brill's Content and Ray Gun.

Kinda makes you wonder about the future of what the publishing industry refers to as "niche content," doesn't it? If so and you're like me, you're not alone. You can engage in macabre speculation (or just read about it) at MagazineDeathPool.com