Submitted by Pat Tate on Tue, 07/08/2008 – 16:28.
Sad news today, Condé Nast announced that the July/August edition of Golf for Women will be its last publication. It was cited that a 35% decline in ad pages in the first quarter of the year and a change in the media habits of readers were the reasons for this decision. I have subscribed to this magazine since its beginnings in 1988. I have held on to many of the back issues and still from time to time reread them. I have been rather disappointed that the magazine seemed to go into more and more style, glamour and expensive vacations rather than some of the wonderful instruction pieces of the earlier issues.
In an email to me today Shira Ovide, Staff Reporter, The Wall Street Journal stated she thought the web site would be maintained.
In an email to me today Shira Ovide, Staff Reporter, The Wall Street Journal stated she thought the web site would be maintained.
3 comments
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Putt4Dough says:
July 17, 2008 at 8:01 am (UTC -7)
The times are a ‘changin’
This is truly sad Pat, I agree. This is the reality of media use today – people just don’t read as much hard copy as they used to. My kids rarely read magazines, and in fact rarely pick up a newspaper – everything is on-line. They have even expressed interest in the new “Kindle” which is an electronic reader that one can down-load books onto, instead of purchasing a paperback or hardcover from Amazon or a bookstore. There is a cartoon in this week’s New Yorker, where a neighbourhood bookseller is arriving at his shop at the same time as the mailman is delivering an on-line book purchase to the woman who lives in the apartment above the shop – she looks ashamed! But in fact, purchases of any hard copy is diminishing, even from on-line vendors. Are you planning to put any instruction articles on your web site? This is one reason I enjoyed reading Golf for Women.
Meghan The Golfer says:
July 17, 2008 at 1:22 pm (UTC -7)
Personally, I’d rather read about golfing online, usually.
That way I can choose to skip all the ad pages. Though there’s something to be
said about beach reading, of course, but magazines nowadays seem to have just
too many ads!
Pat Tate says:
July 28, 2008 at 8:18 am (UTC -7)
Sad Times for Book Lovers
Thanks Putt4dough for your post. Yes times are a’changin’ and for some of us it is hard to welcome these changes. Many of us, who are book lovers, not only buy books and magazines for ther content but also for their tactile properties, their smell and their appearance. There is great pleasure in being the first person to crack the spine of a new book. It is nice to take along a copy of Golf for Women in your beach bag, or maybe on the bus, train or plane. There is something to be said for the flexibility of the material in your hands. But you are right as Amazon has also embraced “Kindle” as an option. Somehow the picture of replacing the newspaper for the laptop for bathroom reading is hard to envision. As for instruction of the site I think that would be an excellent inclusion. Hopefully as we get more Pros involved in the site we can enlist their help in this.
Pat Tate
Publisher,Women’s Golf Center