The Slow and Painful Death of Print

The past couple weeks have been sad ones for the magazine world. The unavoidable fate of non-relevancy has claimed the lives of 3 young publications on verge of making it big but never quite getting it.

Cargo, Celebrity Living and Elle Girl have bit monthly digest dust leaving without a trace, dumping their loyal staff on the sidewalks and forcing the unfortunate souls to find freelance work or worse - beg peers for jobs. But why???? You must be asking. All three have conveyed a strong presence in the industry, but I guess looks aren't everything.

Apparently, Cargo failed to establish itself in the ever-shrinking men's market. A shopping magazine for men? Please, what guys do you know shop, let alone read a how-to magazine on the subject. Celebrity Living sunk among the myriads a buoying gossip rags - why? It could not differentiate. How many times do we want to read about Paris' Hilton's doggie wardrobe? And Elle Girl, the most unfortunate of the three cited a shrinking teen market for their pulling the plug. But it was so cute!!

What's most interesting is that 2 of the 3 aren't claiming complete bankruptcy - they are going digital. Both Cargo and Elle Girl may continue their ventures with an online magazine, which may prove to be more profitable in the long run. Perhaps people just have gotten sick of paper. I mean with all of the pointless, self-indulgent, non-relevant blogs and websites out there in the world wide web, what's 2 more? (The Blackberrie excluded, bien sur.)

Final Word: It's a tough time we're living in, when guys don't want to read about new gadgets, girls don't want to read about affordable fashion and people are sick of celebrity gossip because they're oversaturated. And all the while, a show like Deal or No Deal remains a runaway hit. Can someone please explain? I just don't get it.