TV NewsCheck, a popular online publication that covers the television broadcast industry, says it will temporarily stop publishing new articles, columns and its e-mail newsletters.
The decision to suspend publication comes amid a downturn in the advertising marketing that has impacted similar news outlets, editors for TV NewsCheck wrote in an announcement on Monday.
“It’s no secret that the media industry is facing the most challenging environment it has ever known, finding itself in need of adapting to fragmentation and the demands of a multiplatform media universe,” the editors wrote. “Each day, we have endeavored to share with you the story of that transition, the incremental successes and the casualties among the organizations that comprise this industry.”
TV NewsCheck has covered the broadcast and streaming video industries for nearly two decades. In addition to its digital advertising business, the website offers a premium subscription that allows readers to access “exclusive interviews, trend stories and analysis” for $20 per month or $200 per year. The company also hosts a number of events and offers a robust job board where workers in the TV industry can learn about new positions at local stations across the country.
Going forward, executives say TV NewsCheck will focus primarily on its events business and look at new ways to expand its premium content offerings as it seeks to offset ongoing softness in the digital advertising space.
It wasn’t clear if the publication plans to lay off workers in order to address costs.
The website is the second industry publication to significantly modify its operation over the past 12 years as publishers look for ways to reign in costs and tap new revenue sources amid a downturn in the advertising market.
Last July, radio publication All Access said it would shut down after nearly three decades of publishing industry news online. Joel Denver, the publisher of All Access, cited unspecified financial issues for the reason. After an outpouring of support from readers, Denver abandoned plans to shut down All Access, announcing instead that the entire editorial staff would be let go and the daily “Net News” portion of the website would close.
