Following last week's purchase of the domain name internet.com, computer news publisher Mecklermedia has decided to fold the print version of Web Developer magazine and shift its editorial resources to a Web version to debut on a refurbished Mecklermedia umbrella site on 2 June.
The bi-monthly magazine, which began as a quarterly in October 1995 and maintained a circulation of between 50,000 and 75,000 subscribers, suffered from dwindling interest among its core constituency - webmasters. "It was pretty apparent that high-end Web developers don't get their info from print," Mecklermedia president Alan Meckler said Tuesday. "They get it online."
The magazine will not fire any of its handful of full-time staffers, he added, but it will eliminate the print production staff. The other two major Mecklermedia magazines - WebWeek and Internet World - will continue to publish their print versions.
The new Web Developer site could be a significant advancement over the current one, which features only repurposed magazine articles. The new site will feature daily news and updates.
Though the company's iworld site does not make money, Meckler has high hopes for the launch of the remodeled internet.com site. "You guys [at Wired News] will never make money, but we will," he said.
