The writing, as they like to say, is on the wall -- Print media is dying. The difference is that those who say it are no longer talking about tomorrow, but right now. Last week, newspaper publisher Gannett began layoffs of one-tenth of its workforce. Monday, the Tribune Company filed for Chapter 11 bankrupcy, and Columbia University announced that it would begin accepting online journalism for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize.
And today, Joystiq is reporting that the same thing is poised to hit game journalism -- such as it is -- as well. Citing multiple anonymous sources within publisher Ziff Davis, Joystiq claims that rival game network UGO is in talks to buy the entire 1UP Network except for website FileFront... and flagship print magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly.
This news comes just twenty days after the New York Times reported that EGM might move to an online-only format.
Personally, if the rumors are true, I'll be very sad to see EGM go -- it was the mag that inspired me to write about games in the first place -- but I have to admit that its time may have come.
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