CJR Seeks to Solve Magazines’ Online Problem

Fact: Almost every print pub has a Web site.

Fact: No one knows what to do with them. Magazine Web sites have poor (although increasing) traffic, earn a fraction of the CPM rate that their print counterparts enjoy and generally barely expand the “brand.”

Fact: Someone has to find the answer. And soon.

Thanks to a $230,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation, the Columbia Journalism Review hopes to provide the solution. According to a statement, the goal of the study is “to help magazines find a way to the best online editorial and business practices.”

CJR chairman Victor Navasky put it best:

“It’s like the wild west out there. Each magazine is making it up as it goes along, and nobody knows what anybody else is doing. The advent of these online off-springs has given rise to a vast set of ethical issues, culture clashes, chaotic and inefficient business and legal practices, and perhaps even malpractices.”

The results of the survey will be published in a special edition of CJR. Here’s hoping we all learn to get rich.

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