The Jazz Times Dilemma Examined

There is still no confirmation, and no denial, of reports that Jazz Times will go out of business as a print publication. General economic decline, the increasing loss of advertising life blood and the necessity to shrink staffs weaken all magazines and newspapers.

Nasty fiscal weather is even more threatening to publications that specialize in cultural affairs. In hard times, support for the arts is likely to top the list of cuts in advertiser, donor and personal budgets. In his blog's Sunday Wax Bits, Marc Myers takes a perceptive look at the Jazz Times predicament and at alternatives to paper-based jazz information.

I don't buy the argument that the slow demise of print is tied to the "dumbing down of America." Fans today aren't reading less about jazz. They're just gravitating toward more essential content. What is essential? Content that's timely, surprising and independent. Sadly, many jazz magazines in recent years have missed the mark on all three fronts with cost escalations, talent drains and advertiser synergy deals.

To read the whole thing, go to JazzWax