Last time in London, I found Time Out's thick listings indispensable as a tourist.
But times change, and even though the four-decade-old media empire has thrived as new media arrived and expanded into more than a dozen countries with a terrific listings and features guide, it isn't surprising to see its game plan is going to shift.
The downturn in advertising and the increased costs of newsprint and distribution have many proprietors looking at alternatives. In Time Out's case, it's looking at putting its listings online only, slimming its printed product and making it free.
i think you'll see a number of similar dilemmas addressed this way in the time ahead. In the case of newspapers, newsprint costs have soared in the last six months and there are planned increases in the months ahead, so staple items like listings, agate and the like are bound to be under scrutiny. The challenges are even heavier for glossies, pound for pound, and there are fewer places for them to cut.
