It's a tale — or tail — of two magazines: one folding and one launching.
San Francisco culture magazine 7x7 has announced the end of its print run following the March issue, while locally-born pet website Dogster.com makes its newsstand debut as a magazine on Tuesday.
“I have loved every last hectic moment of publishing 7x7 these past 13 years,” 7x7 president and editor in chief Chloe Harris Hannen told SF Gate. “But just as our editorial mission has always been to report on and celebrate what’s new and innovative, we must also look forward at the business level. Print is our legacy and has been crucial to building the 7x7 brand. But our future is online.”
Hannen said that the company website outpaced the magazine in readership by 10 times. She also acknowledged there would be layoffs, but hasn't talked about specifics.
Dogster and Catster launched online in San Francisco in 2004; the company was acquired last year by I-5 Publishing, which prints several titles in the pet and animal realm. One of its most famous, Dog Fancy, is folding and being retooled into Dogster. It will appear on stands six times per year; sister site Catster will also be a bimonthly magazine.
"Pets are serious business -- you're looking at what's close to being a $60B industry," said Janine Kahn, executive editorial director, digital, for Dogster's parent company I-5 Publishing. "So I don't think we're crazy for wanting to reach as many pet owners as possible through as many mediums as are available to us."
