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User-Generated Magazine Publisher 8020 Media Shuts Doors

Published on January 05, 2009 | Email this article

8020 Media, publisher of user-generated magazines, is folding. The company publishes JPG, a magazine with a circulation of 50,000, filled with content almost entirely from readers, who submit reviews and photos to the magazine’s website.

The company had been attempting to sell itself to Conde Nast or Meredith Corp., but hasn’t been able to strike a deal, writes paidContent. However, prospective buyers for JPG have shown their faces since the company’s demise was announced, including Flickr and SmugMug, according to TechCrunch, which reports that a deal for the magazine is imminent.

The San Francisco company shuttered travel magazine Everywhere last August.

Other magazines have dabbled in user-generated content. Budget Travel, for example, launched an issue last summer that was made up nearly entirely of content generated by readers. The issue pulled in 2,800 pitches, for a final 324 contributors.

The issue was a nod to the fact that consumers are turning to each other as much as to experts, said editor Erik Torkells, who plans to do another user-generated issue in 2009.

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