NEW MEDIA
It's an idea that seems so 1994: Put a newspaper or magazine - the entire issue, page by page, including ads - into an electronic format that readers can download onto their PCs as PDF or PDF-like files and charge them full subscription price for it. Don't laugh. Media titans like the New York Times Company and Hearst Magazines are unveiling copycat electronic distribution plans this November. The New York Times and Hearst titles such as Popular Mechanics are among those slated for the so-called new media effort.
In the wake of all the failed Net endeavors - the New York Times Company wrote off $22.7 million and canceled an IPO for Times Digital last summer - these initiatives are small-scale, bottom-line ventures. Readers can download compressed files that look identical to their printed counterparts. The target market includes traveling execs, VCs, and international readers who want the full print experience to go. The catch: The multimedia download time is significant even with a broadband connection. Maxim, for instance, makes for a 20-Mbyte file. Scott Heekin-Canedy, senior VP of circulation for the Times, says it will take 5,000 subscribers to break even - a tiny and attainable figure considering the Times site is the world's third-largest online news source.
Why bother? Because unlike Web readers, paying subscribers count toward a publication's circulation numbers, giving it an important boost in these days of declining ad dollars and flat circ.
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