May 20, 2009
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Cross-WIRED
By: Justin Finnegan, Senior Account Manager, Fusion PR (@justinfinnegan)
Joel Johnson at Boing Boing Gadgets, posted a first-person look at the divide of online vs. print at Wired. Johnson was one of the architects of WIRED’s current blog program, which at times saw its lead bloggers taking an editorial role over their print peers, leading to friction in the company. (WIRED and WIRED.com operated independently of each other for a number of years, but were rejoined as one publication by Condé Nast in 2006.)The post goes on to speculate on the print version’s future and how its demise could lead to the shuttering of WIRED.com; of particular note is Johnson’s last paragraph:
“I fear that may be impossible, not just for WIRED but for all these old brands, because they can’t accept that the work at which they have excelled for years will be just as important when it’s online—and online only.”
The situation at WIRED is a fantastic example of the sea of change that notable publications are experiencing with the demise of print. The online arms of the publication – the ones which were thought of as ancillary a few years ago – are now keeping it relevant. For now, it will interesting to see how publications like WIRED leverage their online entities, while endeavoring to meld the same reporting – and ad revenues – that sustained the print version.
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