Golf World Goes All Digital, RIP Print
/Reading David Carr's jarringly accurate piece in the NY Times from Monday about the weird nature of print, digital and 2014 reading, it will come as no surprise that Golf World is ending as a print publication after 67 years.
From the release...
...Golf Digest Editor-in-Chief Jerry Tarde and President Peter Hunsinger announce today a news division that combines the best of both Golf Digest and Golf World to expand our collective digital presence. With the sports news cycle demanding immediate access to quality content, we now will offer more of what our audience wants, when they want it and where they want to get it. To that end, beginning July 28, we’ll be making the following enhancements to both our golf brands.
• Golf World will now be available exclusively on digital platforms. Instead of 31 times a year delivered in print, a week after tournaments are completed, Golf World will be delivered 50 times a year on Mondays at 7 a.m. EST, accessible on all digital devices.
• Readers of Golf World will receive the quality content free of charge, and we will honor the value of their current Golf World print subscription with Golf Digest.
• Golf World will be instantly viewable from GolfDigest.com with daily updates on the latest golf news and tour coverage.
Digital designs will be enhanced to provide more ad spreads, and mobile designs will be upgraded to provide improved functionality for fans on the road. We recognize this is a big change from how we have operated and delivered the printed Golf World magazine in the past. But this evolution allows us to increase frequency, improve delivery time, and add video reporting to better meet the expectations of today’s readers.
I'm learning this at the same time as you are, so naturally I'm anxious to see what this entails.
Let's be honest, receiving the magazine days or even more after a tournament was complete just wasn't going to work going forward, as much as it saddens me. So hopefully this will be a step forward for Golf World. For now, here's to 67 great years in print and serving the sport of golf.
**AP's Doug Ferguson talks to Golf Digest Editor In Chief Jerry Tarde about the decision.
"These are the right decisions, but they're tough ones," said Jerry Tarde, the chairman of both magazines. "This brand has been around a long time, and we want it be around for a long time. The only way to do it is by meeting the expectation of our readers."
Golf World has offered an abbreviated roundup of the week's golf coverage through tablets and other devices on Monday morning, and recently the magazine has been made available digitally in the middle of the week. Starting Monday, the full magazine will be available online for free. Readers can sign up for it on the website. Tarde said Golf World subscribers can either be switched over to a Golf Digest subscription or refunded.
The headline on the final print cover says, "Jackpot!"
Tarde, however, didn't look at this issue as the last one.
"Golf World is not ending," he said. "We're moving into a bigger digital footprint. We don't view it as a last issue. We've got another cover coming next Monday. We're all about producing great content. Where it appears has become less critical. Now you're getting it quicker, through all different devices."
Michael Sebastian with this from AdAge:
Golf World Editor-in-Chief Jaime Diaz will keep his title and lead the combined news-division team, continuing to report to Golf Digest Editor-in-Chief Jerry Tarde. Dan Robertson remains the publisher of Golf Digest and Golf World.
Golf World averaged paid and verified circulation of 213,387 during the last six months of 2013, according to its filing with the Alliance for Audited Media, down slightly from nearly 215,000 a year earlier.
Print ad pages were off 28.5% through its July 21 edition, according to Media Industry Newsletter.
