Thanks for the scoop....ouch. Some here weren't too fond of him, but I didn't mind
his appearances. "Absolutely, Howie..."
IIRC, J. Max bailed from TV Guide a couple of years ago because he could see the writing on the wall for that publication. Looks like the grimreaper.com has tracked him down at B&C.
As did you, I actually liked Max's weekly take on the television biz, and it was probably the closest I came to appointment-listening with the Howie Carr program. A good way to stay up with the popular culture without actually having to watch any of the shows (a lot of the current programs they discussed as being either killed or renewed were one's I never even knew existed.)
I would think that the print edition of B&C will be lucky to see out the year. It's readership must have 100% net capability, and it is probably one publication which could charge for the on-line edition and e-mail updates and still keep most of its subscribers, who have nowhere else to go. And, looking at the bigger picture, except for publications where quality photography is required (such as fashion and brides titles) and lower-common-denominator bathroom reading rack pubs (People, US, the supermarket tabs) I think the game is just about over for the dead-tree-based magazine business.
Too bad, since I, for one, like magazines, and find the printed page a lot easier to read with these old eyes than a computer screen. But magazines, like newspapers, were in a contest with technology and demographics, and they lost.
Regards,
TSB
