rupp@noscvax.UUCP (William L. Rupp) (04/04/85)
I would like to put in my two cents worth (surprising how much verbiage a couple of pennies can still buy!) on the C/E Ziff-Davis affair. For one thing, the new title has existed for at least a year and a half, which means that the decision to change must have been made in mid 1983 at the latest. At that time the micro boom was at its peak. New computers and magazines were being introduced almost daily, or so it seemed. Z-D's decision to revamp POPULAR ELECTRONICS was no better or worse than Ford's decision, taken in the auto boom year of 1955, to launch the Edsel. How was Ford supposed to know that the economy was going to nosedive when the first models were introduced three years later? Ditto Z-D regarding the micro decline. The point is, it is easy to look back, with present knowledge, and find fault. Actually, when the title COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS appeared, I thought it was a shrewd move on the part of the publishers. So much for my vision. Point two. The decision to drop the magazine must surely have come from the higher-ups. The magazine's staff was, no doubt, doing their damnedest to make a go of it. They would not have suggested a move which would have meant the loss of their jobs. Point three. Magazine companies come and go. Z-D has lasted for decades, which is a pretty good record, no matter what one may have thought about their titles at any given time. Street and Smith, one of the biggest in the field, with slick magazines as well as pulps, finally gave way. Conde Nast bought their remaining titles in the mid 1950's and is still publishing them (with the exception of ANALOG SCIENCE FICITON, which belongs to somebody else now). The point is, nothing lasts forever, including magazines. Its too bad that POPLUAR ELECTRONICS is gone, but if there is a need, someone will step in to fill it. Perhaps the days of high budget, slickly produced special interest magazines is coming to a close. After all, content is important, not color and gloss. With that in mind, maybe we should think in terms of publications produced in modest form in modest quantities. .sp Forgive the history lesson. It's just that Ziff-Davis is not, as far as I can tell, a villain. Times change, and the beat goes on.........