Ziff Davis to Shut Down PC Magazine

Posted on November 20, 2008 at 5:51 am (PST)

Ziff Davis announced yesterday that it will be shutting down the print version of their flagship publication, PC Magazine. The magazine launched in 1982 but its life as a print publication will come to an end with the January 2009 issue.

Ziff Davis, the tech/gaming media company that owns the magazine, recently exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is now doing the inevitable by shutting down the print version to concentrate on the online site PCmag.com.

PC Magazine peeked in the early 1990’s, when it was a bi-weekly print publication, with special interest in hardware and software reviews. Print issues used to average 400 to 500 pages, but since the dawn of the internet, people have moved to reading online for computer information.

Earlier this year, the magazine but back from bi-weekly to monthly publishing and now will discontinue its print version to concentrate on the online version, which according to Jason Young, CEO of Ziff Davis, is still very profitable.

The closure will claim the jobs of seven employees from the print side. PCMag will still continue to be published solely as a digital magazine.