SQL Server Magazine seems to be shrinking...

Back about 5 years ago I emailed Kathy Blomstrom at Penton Media, the then Editor in Chief of SQL Server Magazine, voicing my concerns over the fact that their publication suddenly had dwindled from an average of 80+ pages to 48 pages of content. How did I arrive at this average? Easy. I simply opened my old copies and started counting. Right after 911, Penton began trimming the product in the wake of tough economic conditions I am assuming (as did many companies after that mess) yet never brought it back up to what it once was. Looking at the August 2001 issue (in-hand), I count 80 pages of content. And, as the size of the magazine went to pot, the price seemed to stay about the same, of course.  Opening up my latest issue - December 2008 - I was surprised to see that the magazine reached another milestone in its publication history, and has now shrunk to a mere 40 pages. The amount of content of this magazine has clearly gone by the wayside once again. Some of their fate is understandable; I am guessing that they face extremely tough times, as do all printed media. Go search AH Belo on Google! for their financial statements and you'll see what I am talking about. The good old internet has made anything and everything in print moving towards extinction.

In just seven short years, the magazine has gone from a robust monthly publication to nothing more than a flyer of SQL articles. At this point, Penton needs to decide if they will make a go of SQL Server Magazine, or let it dwindle down to the status of a specialized leaflet. TSQL solutions, an either monthly or bi-monthly TSQL newsletter from Penton (memory doesn't serve me, although I still have some issues around as a faithful subscriber to that as well), basically went away as well...hopefully SQL Server won't follow suit. SQL DBA's and SQL developers need this magazine in my opinion. It always has some really great information, is a voice of the SQL Server community, and offers a professional venue for which to read SQL content. Contrast this with some of the web sites, a few with some really good information but part of the wild world-wide web, it has been enjoyable to wait in anticipation each month and read the nicely written articles. However, as a lawnmower dealer can't be in business selling mowers without a floor full of them, neither can SQL Server magazine be in business with something as what I received in the mail this month. This latest effort can be characterized as very poor and a disservice to loyal subscribers.

Get it together SQL Server Magazine - we need you!

Lee

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Snap to it Penton!