Time Out to join 21st Century

The economic downturn that has put so much pressure on the press already is now manifesting itself in new ways, as the founding editor of Time Out suggests he has had thoughts about turning the magazine into an online publication.

At present the fortnightly magazine does not publish listings online for free, but as investors and advertising revenue turns to online publications and away from the printed press, such an outlook may change.

Already, the Guardian publishes all of its articles online as soon as they are complete, offering readers the entire newspaper to read as soon as events unfold, as well as continuing to sell the printed version at full price daily.

"We are in quite an intensive period of thinking and researching, certainly until Christmas, to re-plan for the future," said founder Tony Elliott.

"If you've got a situation in two to three years where the main role that we play is online...the question is what shape does the print magazine take?"

If the listings were to be published online for free, the magazine is unlikely to be stopped however, as Mr Elliott suggested a freely distributed, slimmed down version could be a good compliment to the website.

For the latest new media, online and digital jobs from pfj, click here