Today, we turn our dagger around and point it at ourselves.
As goes the Internet economy, so goes the magazine founded to cover it. Yesterday the Industry Standard announced that it is ceasing publication. The magazine's Web site said the company will "maintain its online editorial coverage while it seeks a buyer," but only a skeleton crew of six to 20 employees will remain. The parent company, Standard Media International, is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection shortly.
The company indicated "we remain hopeful that our assets will be sold," but you have to worry about a press release in which the word "hopeful" appears so prominently. Non-Standard press outlets took a firmer line, as evidenced by the Washington Post's headline: "Industry Standard Gives Up."
Many of the Standard's 180 or so employees learned the news via nontraditional means, since most of the magazine staff is on what the Wall Street Journal described as a "forced paid vacation" this week. (The forced permanent unpaid vacation for almost everyone begins Tuesday.) The Journal laid out the dizzying rise and precipitous fall of the magazine: Last year's revenue was $140 million, the company threw lavish parties and conferences, the magazine won many editorial awards. But ad sales are down 75 percent this year, and the magazine, which needed less room after several rounds of layoffs this year, is said to be stuck with $60 million in lease commitments alone. There are no severance packages, though the Washington Post pointed out that employees may keep their laptops and mobile phones.
Why now? Outlets agreed: no more funding from primary sponsor International Data Group and other investors. Several outlets chronicled the Standard/IDG relationship and gave conflicting reports of why the money faucet was turned off.
A couple of competitors had trouble hiding their glee. The Los Angeles Times quoted the reaction of Jerry Borrell, editor in chief of Upside: "No! No way! Unbelievable!" But according to the Wall Street Journal, "Technology bankers hailed the publication as one of the most reliable. 'They don't drink the Kool-Aid over there,' one banker said, meaning that reporters and editors hadn't bought into the excesses of the dot-com mania." Actually, right now, a swig of Reverend Jim's favorite drink might hit the spot.
For more information on the future of Media Grok, visit www.guterman.com
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