By Gary Kirchherr
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Will this be a collector's item? The October 1997 MacUser magazine is the last MacUser you'll see on newsstands and in your mailbox. Macworld's and MacUser's respective publishers are folding the two magazines into one, which will carry the Macworld name. |
Everybody else who's writing about Apple Computer this summer is talking about Steve Jobs, the Microsoft deal, the future (if any) of Mac clones, etc. I was planning to do the same, until I stumbled across news of a more immediate impact -- the merger of Macworld and MacUser magazines.
This development can't be dismissed lightly. These magazines have been around almost as long as the Macintosh itself and are the undisputed leaders in the Mac-magazine industry, such as it is. Combining these two once-fierce rivals may not spur an anti-trust investigation, but it still is a shock to the magazine's readers, including me.
International Data Group, which publishes Macworld, and Ziff-Davis Inc., the parent of MacUser, are creating a new company that will publish the new magazine. It will be called Macworld because company officials understandably want to leave intact the name recognition associated with the trade show of the same name. The loss of the MacUser name is cosmetic and shouldn't be misinterpreted; the company publishing the new Macworld will have a board of directors consisting of an equal number of representatives from IDG and Ziff-Davis.
I found interesting the difference in coverage that the still-separate Macworld and MacUser gave the merger in their online sites. Macworld's coverage was virtually nonexistent; until late August, Macworld Online had nothing on it at all. Then it added a tiny-type link on the bottom of its Web site. Now finally it mentions at the top of the main page (albeit still in small type) that it's happening, but says little else.
In contrast to this low-key approach, MacUser's sister publication MacWEEK broke the news -- at least, it had it before anyone else I know. MacUser's Web site soon followed with two links to in-depth articles -- both of which I used as references while writing this column. "Rivals reconcile: ZD-IDG to pool Mac pubs" is surprisingly candid about the motivation behind the action. In a nutshell, both Macworld and MacUser were feeling the advertising pinch in a smaller Macintosh market. The second link is the "MacUser-Macworld FAQ". The FAQ is especially recommended reading if you are a subscriber or even a regular reader of either Macworld or MacUser.
The new Macworld will combine certain features and staff from both old magazines, so what the new magazine will look like when it debuts, purportedly at the end of September, is anyone's guess. Neither IDG nor Ziff-Davis has been forthcoming on the new magazine's content and staffing.
Personally, I hope the new Macworld retains the look of the old. Macworld consistently was a better magazine than MacUser since the late '80s, although the margin narrowed in the last several years; Macworld lost the two or three columnists who by themselves made the magazine worth reading, and MacUser dumped its ill-conceived, suit-oriented "MacUser means business" theme and lightened up. At the end of their respective runs, both magazines had good features, as well as bad ones and redundant coverage. As long as the new Macworld keeps the best stuff from both old magazines, the merger will benefit the Macintosh reader. After all, we'll have the good stuff in one place, and one less subscription to buy.
Meanwhile, give MacUser credit for going out with a bang. Its newsstand issue comes with a CD that has the preview release of BeOS. BeOS, for those who missed it, was widely reported to be the future of the Macintosh operating system -- until Apple stunned the industry by buying Steve Jobs' NeXT instead. Regardless, the BeOS CD is worth MacUser's $4 newsstand price, even if you already subscribe -- and even if the magazine doesn't become a collector's item.
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