JPG Magazine and its publisher, 8020 Media, are seeking a buyer to stave off a planned shuttering.
The 50,000-circulation glossy, published six times a year, features professional and amateur, reader-submitted photography. The company also maintains a Web site, JPGMag.com, that encourages user participation. Last week, executives made plans to close jpgmag.com and cease printing, citing poor economic conditions.
In a statement released on January 2, 8020 president and CEO, Mitchell Fox, wrote, “In the face of these extraordinary economic times, in a devastated advertising climate, we can no longer continue to operate the business due to lack of funds, and hence we have to close 8020 Media effective immediately.
He added, “The riddle of having a sound web platform support that drives interactivity with a print product has been solved, however, none of us could have predicted the global economic collapse we’ve witnessed in the past few months. So our timing to grow the business and bring it to profitability through even the smallest amount of additional funding could not have been worse. So, while we sit here at the precipice of profitability, the negative marketplace forces are too strong to overcome, and we must take this regrettable action.”
However, in a new statement on Jan. 4, Fox said that the news of the closing and the creation of fan site, SaveJPG.com, had encouraged several potential buyers to come forward. More than 20 bidders, many of them Web based companies, have expressed interest in 8020 Media, which is now accepting bids through January 7.
