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Webzines turn to traditional print roots

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CIOL Bureau
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Reshma Kapadia

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NEW YORK: A year ago, traditional media companies were rushing to create an

online presence, but in recent months several online publications have decided

to go the opposite route and get some print exposure.

Wink, which bills itself as a multicultural fashion magazine and launched

online about four months ago, recently came out with its first print

publication.

Similarly, Space.com, run by former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, recently published

a print bi-monthly magazine, Space Illustrated, and bought another print

publication Space Business International.

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"We are looking in the consumer and business fields and got our eye on

two to three companies and publications," Space.com editor-in-chief Frank

Abatemarco said, adding that the company plans to be aggressive with

acquisitions in the print field.

Closely held Powerful Media's Inside.com, an online news site focused on the

media industry, also recently said it planned to introduce a print publication.

On Monday, it named the new magazine's senior editorial team, which will be led

by current Inside.com business editor Richard Siklos.

"The online world is realizing that there is a lot of power in the old

brick and mortar stuff that we had thought had become of minimal

significance," said Jupiter Communications analyst Robert Hertzberger.

"Print has permanence and authority that online does not have."

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The print world also offers tried and true business models that may be

attractive to online media publications - many of which have struggled to find a

model that will help them obtain profitability before investors lose fate in

them, industry analysts said.

Several online publications, including TheStreet.com Inc. and Slate,

published by Microsoft Corp., have tinkered with a subscription-based model and

then decided to go back with a mostly free model with revenues coming primarily

from advertising.

Some industry watchers, however, are not convinced the move is necessarily a

smart one.

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"I don't believe this is a trend. I think they are putting themselves

into a very high-cost, competitive marketplace where it will be much more

difficult to differentiate themselves and build their brand," said Jack

Myers of the Myers Report, adding that creating the same product on two

different mediums is not necessarily going to work.

Executives at most of the online publications that have recently added a

print version have said that a print version was always part of their

strategies.

"The intention at Space.com all along had been to be a multimedia

platform company, so Space.com Illustrated was very early on the drawing

boards," Abatemarco said.

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He added that the site and the print publication take completely different

editorial approaches and complement each other, directing viewers who want to

see visuals for the content they read on the site to the print publication and

those who want more background on the visuals to the site.

"The magazine is a much more traditional feature writing and

photo-driven product. The hallmark of it is visual vibrancy," Abatemarco

said.

Wink magazine's founder and President Ralph Clermont echoed the same

sentiment toward the magazine's print publication and said while it was more

economical to launch the magazine online, a print version was always on the

drawing board.

"Our idea with the Internet version was to create a community with

similar values and with the print version we were able to celebrate the beauty

of it. You just can't get the beauty (online) that you can get in print,"

Clermont said, adding that the magazine generates revenue primarily from

advertising. "I think you need both versions."

(C) Reuters Limited 2000.

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