After 151 years, Popular Science will no longer offer a magazine::Popular Science is doing away with its magazine format as the publication looks to “evolve beyond the digital magazine product.”
Oh well … at least we’ve still got Popular Mechanics.
I picked the worst time to get into print media…
I was gonna say this is a sad day, but that’s just nostalgia for a time that’s passed. I grew up reading and loving Popular Science, my dad always has a subscription and I would read it cover to cover usually the day it came in the mail. I let my own print subscription lapse years ago, tried a few different versions of digital magazines (anyone remember zinio?), but today it’s just websites like arstechnica and the verge that have become the focus.
I still value the articles I come across online but the print edition is just a warm memory at this point to me so I can’t expect them to keep a business going on that.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In a statement to The Verge, Cathy Hebert, the communications director for PopSci owner Recurrent Ventures, says the outlet needs to “evolve” beyond its magazine product, which published its first all-digital issue in 2021.
In a post on LinkedIn, former PopSci editor Purbita Saha commented on the magazine’s discontinuation, stating she’s “frustrated, incensed, and appalled that the owners shut down a pioneering publication that’s adapted to 151 years worth of changes in the space of a five-minute Zoom call.” Layoffs have impacted journalists on the science beat particularly hard in recent weeks.
“PopSci is a phenomenal brand, and as consumer trends shift it’s important we prioritize investment in new formats,” Herbert tells The Verge.
In addition to dropping its magazine format, PopSci laid off several employees earlier this month, leaving around five editorial staff members and “a few” workers on the publication’s commerce team, according to Axios.
The digital media group Recurrent Ventures acquired PopSci in 2021 and named its third CEO in three years just one week before the layoffs hit.
However, its discontinuation marks the end of an era, and the other cuts across the science journalism field won’t make it easier to stay up to date on the state of our climate or dive into fascinating stories that you might not otherwise come across without the media outlets that bring them to our attention.
The original article contains 384 words, the summary contains 227 words. Saved 41%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
