Magazines’ growing use of user-generated content
caught our eye last May after
Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel announced it would fill its June 2008 issue almost entirely with reader content.
Yet as it turns out, that may not be the best strategy for
every issue. 8020 Media, the company that published
JPG magazine, a title filled all issue, every issue with user-generated content,
announced January 2 that it is closing up shop.
8020 CEO Mitchell Fox told employees last week that the publisher was "at the precipice of profitability," but "negative marketplace forces are too strong to overcome," according to a
report on
The New York Times Bits blog
.