Zinio and online magazines

My library is one of many that now subscribes to Zinio: the World's Largest Digital Newstand. Available as an app for Android and iOS, it's also available as an online subscription. What that means is that because I pay taxes to my Douglas County Libraries, I have access via my computer, tablet and phone to an impressive collection of the full editions of many popular magazines.

One of the ones I'm sampling is Newsweek - the very edition (Oct. 29, 2012) in which it left paper for the digital world. Why? Editor Tina Brown writers, "the supportive print ad dollars fell off a cliff scross the entire industry in the spring of 2011." Meanwhile, she notes, "it costs $24 million a year to manufacture, print, distribute and manage the circulation of Newsweek."

I find that I'm about ready to leave my newspaper behind, too. I understand that I'll have to pay some subscriptions to support the writing I want. But I'm grateful to have the library to allow me to preview the options first.

P.S. Interesting. The Newsweek had some fine writing and reporting in it. But it was just 56 pages long.

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