Blender Magazine Will Stop Printing After April Issue

Magazine catches economic infection

Several newspapers recently have decided to cease print operations and become online-only news operations. It seems this trend is creeping into the magazine industry now, too.

Blender Magazine plans to maintain its web site, Blender.com, but its April issue will be the last to exist in hard copy form.

Yep, it means layoffs

Blender’s owner Alpha Media Group announced the change Thursday, and it says about 30 employees will lose their jobs as a result. With fewer jobs available every day, they might need to live off short term loans for a while.

"We went as far as we could in a difficult environment," said an Alpha Media spokeswoman, Nora Haynes.

Blender’s ad content fell 31 percent in 2008.

Blender history

Blender Magazine hit the shelves in 2001. An entertainment magazine, Blender often focused on music in reviews and features such as “greatest songs ever.”

Other fallen publications

Other magazines have fallen prey to declining ad revenue as well. This year, other big publications including Domino and Country Home have already ceased printing.

More publications’ sad stories

Newspapers seem to be bearing the brunt of advertisers’ decreasing demand for print space. Recently the Seattle Post-Intelligencer decided it would convert to an online-only format. The Rocky Mountain News in Denver shut its doors completely after 150 years in the business. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Blender Magazine Will Stop Printing After April Issue"