CMP goes Web first; closes three magazines
There's some tough news today in the world of B2B journalism. CMP is restructuring and laying off some 200 people. The move is predictable, and even wise. But it's still sad to think that so many of our comrades are out of work.
The move is prompted by CMP's realization that last year its non-print revenue surpassed its print revenue for the first time, Chief Executive Officer Steve Weitzner told Folio. And according to Weitzner, "that trend is continuing and the gap is actually growing. We want to realign internal resources around these growth areas and look at opportunities in the marketplace and really go after them."
Or, in other words, CMP is putting its online business at the fore.
According to BtoB Magazine, CMP is closing three print magazines and reducing the frequency of two others.
CMP's restructuring comes less than three months after IDG's InfoWorld announced that it was going Web-only. I said then that "no matter how we look at the changes in media, it's clear that part of what is happening must be described as loss ... but something is gained, too ... a trail to follow, and vindication for the trailblazers."
I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy. So today, despite the losses at CMP, I also feel better about our industry as a whole.
Bit by bit, day by day, we are getting to where we need to be.
For more info, check out min's blog.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, business media