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PC World editor resigns over apparent ad pressure »

Posted by: Wil 2 years, 7 months ago

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Award-winning Editor-in-Chief Harry McCracken of PC World resigned Tuesday over disagreements with the magazine's publisher regarding stories critical of advertisers, according to sources.

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Wil

I was a Propeller Scout, and I ran the Geeks Group. AOL sent me to the land of Wind and Ghosts, though, so I don ...

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Comments: 4

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Wil
May 3, 2007, 12:18 p.m.
FTA: "[T]hree sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told CNET News.com that McCracken informed staffers in an afternoon meeting Wednesday that he decided to resign because Colin Crawford, senior vice president, online, at IDG Communications, was pressuring him to avoid stories that were critical of major advertisers.
Wired News reported Wednesday evening that McCracken quit after Crawford killed a draft story titled 'Ten Things We Hate About Apple.'"
On InDigital, we've rejected tons of sponsors because it could create this sort of conflict of interest and threaten our editorial independence. I'm shocked that a magazine like PC World wouldn't give its editor in chief the same respect that Revision 3 gives our little webcast show.
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TomBiro
May 3, 2007, 12:44 p.m.
This is a disgrace. I can't wait to hear what Jason Calacanis has to say about this, as he's such a fan of the "wall" it's not even funny. Well, at least I have another blog topic to discuss now.
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Beau7890
May 3, 2007, 8:54 p.m.
Colin Crawford is completely missing the point with this narrow-minded and fear-based approach.
PC World is huge. It has a large subscriber base and the perfect demographic for its advertisers. They'll keep buying ads regardless of what editorial is run because the magazine is such a good medium for the tech industry. In fact, if you're planning a marketing strategy for a computer-related business, you HAVE to advertise there.
And part of what makes it such a good place to place ads is its objectivity. When the bean-counters start to influence editorial in a trade pub--especially one that provides reviews--its credibility suffers, and so does that of its advertisers. Ultimately, that pub's circulation will decrease, followed closely by its ad revenue.