MacWeek gives up the ghost
The only weekly publication covering the Macintosh platform said it will become Emedia Weekly and cover Windows- and Unix-based machines.
The rechristened publication will continue to cover digital content creation--meaning everything from video to print to Web publishing. With the increased use of Windows-based machines in this area, publications have found it profitable to expand coverage in order to gain new advertising revenue from Windows hardware and software vendors.
 More coverage on CNET Radio |
The decision comes in the wake of other recent consolidations in the Mac publication market. In August of 1997, Ziff-Davis and International Data Group (IDG) entered into a joint venture that consolidated the MacUser publication into Macworld.
The consolidation reflects the fact that the market segment's advertising revenue has not remained large enough to support a number of publications. Additionally, Apple Computer has focused its marketing efforts on an expensive media TV and print ad campaign as it attempts to garner attention from a wider audience.
For instance, Apple may be paying as much as $2 million for a new 30-second version of its "Think different" commercial, which will offer tribute to the comedian Jerry Seinfeld during tonight's final episode of NBC's Seinfeld show.
Apple's advertising campaign targets a less-specialized, more mainstream audience, leaving less money for it to spend on Mac-focused publications and even technology trade publications in general.
MacWeek's trend towards combining Mac and Windows coverage, in the meanwhile, already started in March when the publication introduced a section called "Integration" that offers information about integrating different platforms into networks. MacWeek said a recent survey showed 70 percent of its readership already operates in a mixed-operating system environment.
The premiere issue of EMedia Weekly is scheduled for August 24, 1998, the company said.