Electronic Publishing - Electronic Magazines And Newspapers

ELECTRONIC MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS

Electronic magazines, or e-zines, are magazines published electronically, most often on the Web. Similarly, electronic newspapers, also known as online newspapers, are newspapers published on the Web. In addition to online content, most e-zines and online newspapers offer interactive features, such as the ability to search current and archived articles for a particular topic or keyword. Many also operate message boards, allowing readers to comment on articles. Some e-zines and online newspapers rely on advertising to make money, others charge subscription fees, and many rely on both revenues sources.

Online newspapers have been offered to readers in some form since the early 1990s. In 1994, the News and Observer, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, became the first daily newspaper to publish its full contents on the Internet. By 2000, the online versions of the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post had established themselves as the online newspaper industry leaders.

The only publisher to actually make money from an online newspaper was WSJ.com, the online version of the Wall Street Journal. When online advertising revenues began their drastic downturn in 2000, WSJ.com was able to rely on its base of nearly 600,000 paying subscribers for revenue. In fact, by early 2001 subscription sales had begun to account for more than advertising revenues. A major contender to WSJ.com, the online version of the New York Times (NYTimes.com), dealt with the online advertising industry slump in a different manner. According to an August 2001 article in Business Journal-Portland, "Like WSJ.com, NYTimes.com is seeing significant declines in advertising revenue. However, the online edition of the paper is not moving to a subscription model like WSJ's. Like many online publications, NYTimes.com is leery of charging for what has already been offered for free. Instead, New York Times Digital is charging for 'premium content' such as archive searches, and some wireless delivery of content."

One of the earliest well-known e-zines, Slate, was first published by Microsoft Corp. in 1996. To run the news, politics, and culture e-zine, Microsoft hired Michael Kinsley, formerly a senior editor for the New Republic and a co-host of Crossfire, CNN's political commentary program. Initially, access to Slate cost $19.95 per month. A MySlate feature allowed readers to customize the site. A discussion forum, dubbed The Fray, permitted readers to comment on articles and interact with one another. In 1999, the ezine's managers realized that they were spending more money trying to secure paying subscribers than they were actually generating in subscription fees. According to Slate publisher Scott Moore, as quoted in a September 2001 EContent article, "I projected what would happen to our audience if we made Slate free, given that we could take advantage of the distribution power of MSN. I modeled what that would do for our advertising potential, and it looked like there was a lot more upside with that strategy than continuing to slug along selling subscriptions, so that's what we did and it has paid off." By 2001, roughly 2.5 million unique readers logged on to Slate every month.

One of Slate's major rivals, Salon was created in 1995 to cover political and cultural issues. The ezine's initial public offering in 1999 raised $35.6 million in capital. Access to the site was free, which meant Salon had to rely on advertising to generate revenues. Consequently, the site was particularly susceptible to the online advertising slowdown that started in 2000. That year, Salon lost roughly $19 million on only $8 million in revenue. To reduce its dependence on advertising, Salon began working on a fee-based site with expanded content and no advertising. Cost cutting measures included layoffs and a 15-percent pay cut in 2001. According to BusinessWeek Online writer Thane Peterson, Salon's reliance on advertising was not the only reason the firm found itself struggling; it also lacked the name recognition of industry giants like Newsweek and Time. "Established print magazines can constantly remind readers to log onto their Web sites, so, like Slate, they require far less marketing expense than an independent like Salon ."

Analysts disagree over which business model will prove the best choice for online books, newsletters, newsletters, and magazines. Advances in technology certainly will impact online publishing, as will new legislation. Business models not yet conceived may well emerge as online publishers continue working to attain profitability.