Ziff Davis' Yahoo Internet Life to fold
Sources close to the company say the Ziff Davis Media publication, which chronicled Net culture, is shuttering operations.
The publication, which had a paid circulation base of 1.1 million subscribers, is the latest in Ziff Davis' family of technology magazines to cease operations. In November 2001, Ziff Davis stopped publication of Interactive Week, folding most of its editorial content into eWeek. In May, Ziff Davis also sold The Net Economy to trade publisher Advanstar.
In a memo to employees, Ziff Davis Media CEO Robert Callahan attributed the closure to the struggling technology market after the dot-com bubble burst. He added that advertising dollars declined considerably since last year and the publication's market share decreased 52 percent, despite its large paying audience.
"These are tough times, but we are meeting our challenges head-on--and making progress on all fronts," Callahan's memo read. "Our focus continues to be squarely on the technology and game markets."
The memo, whose authenticity was confirmed by sources close to the company, noted that the last issue of Yahoo Internet Life will be for August 2002.
All 35 employees of the magazine were laid off, according to one source in the company. A Ziff Davis representative could not be immediately reached for comment.
The decision to shutter Yahoo Internet Life comes as Ziff Davis continues to focus its publications on a core readership of computer professionals. The company has launched magazines such as Baseline and CIO Insight to better serve this readership, while catering to tech enthusiasts with the launch of ExtremeTech.com. Yahoo Internet Life was geared toward general consumers interested in technology and the Web.