Press Gazette to end print publishing?

The media's trade journal, the Press Gazette, is reportedly considering ending its traditional print edition in favour of an online-only option, it has been reported.

Now 43 years old, the publication may now either take an online-only form, or perhaps a smaller, A4 size features-based magazine, with news making the shift from its printed pages to a redesigned website.

Owned currently by the Wilmington Group, staff at the Press Gazette have been having a series of meetings over the proposed change to its format, although rumours of such a shake up have been circulating now for some weeks.

The consultations follow the recent slump in revenue drawn from advertising, which has affected all print publications through a lack of traditionally reliable income.

Trade presses in particular rely heavily on advertising, making the problems for such magazines far more acute, where as, by contrast, online marketing typically saw growth even despite the slowing economy.

The Press Gazette has changed hands several times in the past few years, with Piers Morgan and PR executive Matthew Freud owning the title briefly from 2005.

The Gazette then went into administration and, although has been bought by the Wilmington Group, now faces another change of hands as the publisher itself is preparing for a sale.

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