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From: boblu@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM (Robert Luneski)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Publishers (II)
Message-ID: <7817@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM>
Date: 31 May 91 15:44:13 GMT
References: <1991May22.021421.23656@lsuc.on.ca> <42806@cup.portal.com> <1991May31.100600.1@simvax.labmed.umn.edu>
Reply-To: boblu@tekgen.BV.TEK.COM (Robert Luneski)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
Lines: 38

In article <1991May31.100600.1@simvax.labmed.umn.edu> davidli@simvax.labmed.umn.edu writes:
>In article <42806@cup.portal.com>, Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com writes:
>
>> You're seeing effects of the death of the Atari marketplace in the US.
>> There are no longer enough Atari users or advertisers to support large
>> "glossy" magazines.  There are still a few smaller magazines trying to
>> support the market, but they may be hard to find.
>
.
.
>It wasn't from lack of subscribers OR advertisers that these magazines died --
>it was a decision by the publishers to put their money into other endeavors.
>

It most certainly was.  Look at the number and size of ads in thier final 
issue.  The total advertsing revenue from those is insignificant relative
to the cost of producing a glossy.  I know of at least three writers for 
STart that Antic Publishing owes over $3000 each with no ability or intention 
to pay.  They don't have any money left to divert to other endevors.

Read the full page editorial in STart's final issue explaining thier decision 
to go bimonthly.  Paraphrased from thier own words, the logic goes like this:

1) No users = No software sales
2) No software sales = No developers
3) No developers = No advertsing
4) No advertising = No magazine

Regardless of personnal opinion of the quality of journalism provided by
STart, the loss of the last domestically produced glossy is not a good sign 
for the health of the US Atari community.  Unfortunately, it is not the 
only bad sign. 

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