Carol Wilson: Telecom trade press struggling
Carol, Wilson writes in Telephony magazine End of an era: Telecom trade press struggling. Telephony is considering charging for the printed magazine to avoid going web-only.
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Within the past few weeks, two of our print competitors in the telecom trade press have ceased all print operations, and one such operation — RCR Wireless — has closed down altogether. Now, the only remaining U.S. telecom trade publications — aside from Telephony — are online only, or address specific niches within telecom. (The demise of RCR Wireless, in particular, was a shock because of all our competitors, it was the strongest journalistically.)
Why is this happening? A lack of advertising support.
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We recently conducted a reader survey, and the majority of those who responded said they do value both the print magazine and the electronic components of the Web site. Reading the positive comments offered by many readers was gratifying, but goodwill doesn’t pay printing bills.
We are exploring other ways to survive as a print publication, including asking our subscribers to pay for the print magazines they say they love. So we’re not throwing in the towel. Telephony began publishing as a weekly print magazine in 1901. I don’t want it to end, especially not on my watch.