PC World (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG.[2] Since 2013, it has been an online-only publication.

PC World
EditorJon Phillips
CategoriesComputer magazine
FrequencyMonthly
Total circulation
(December 2012)
355,117 (United States)[1]
First issueMarch 1983; 41 years ago (1983-03)
Final issueAugust 2013 (2013-08) (print)
CompanyIDG
CountryUnited States
Based inSan Francisco, California, US
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.pcworld.com
ISSN0737-8939
OCLC1117065657

It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal technology products and services. In each publication, PC World reviews and tests hardware and software products from a variety of manufacturers, as well as other technology related devices such as still and video cameras, audio devices and televisions.

The current editor of PC World is Jon Phillips, formerly of Wired. In August 2012, he replaced Steve Fox, who had been editorial director since the December 2008 issue of the magazine. Fox replaced the magazine's veteran editor Harry McCracken, who resigned that spring,[3] after some rocky times, including quitting and being rehired over editorial control issues in 2007.[4]

PC World is published under other names such as PC Advisor and PC Welt in some countries. PC World's company name is IDG Consumer & SMB, and it is headquartered in San Francisco.[5] Some of the non-English PC World websites now redirect to other IDG sites; for example, PCWorld.dk (Denmark) is now Computerworld.dk

History edit

The publication was announced at the COMDEX trade show in November 1982, and first appeared on newsstands in March 1983; Felix Dennis set up Personal Computer World which he later sold to VNU, and established MacUser which he sold to Ziff Davis Publishing in the mid-eighties. PC Magazine was also acquired by Ziff Davis.[6]

The magazine was founded by David Bunnell and Cheryl Woodard, and its first editor was Andrew Fluegelman. PC World's magazine and web site have won a number of awards from Folio, the American Society of Business Publication Editors, MIN, the Western Publications Association, and other organizations; it is also one of the few technology magazines to have been a finalist for a National Magazine Award.

Many well known technology writers have contributed to PC World, including Steve Bass, Daniel Tynan, Christina Wood, John C. Dvorak, Stephen Manes, Lincoln Spector, Stewart Alsop, David Coursey, James A. Martin, and others. Editorial leadership has included Harry Miller, Richard Landry, Eric Knorr, Phil Lemmons, Cathryn Baskin, Kevin McKean, and Harry McCracken.

In February 1999, PC World's number of paid subscriptions reached a record of 1,000,453. At the time, it was the first and only computing magazine with a monthly release schedule to hit that mark.[7] In April 2005, the show Digital Duo was slightly rebranded and relaunched as PC World's Digital Duo, and ran for an additional 26 episodes. As of 2006, PC World's audited rate base of 750,000 made it the largest circulation computing magazine in the world.[8]

On July 10, 2013, owner IDG announced that the magazine would cease its thirty-year print run.[9] The issue of August 2013 was the last printed of the magazine PC World, future issues would be digital only.[10]

Countries edit

Based in San Francisco, PC World's original edition is published in the United States however it is also available in other countries (51 in total), sometimes under a different name:

  • PC World in Albania, Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Brazil, Denmark, Greece, India (from July 2006), Kosovo, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, Ecuador.
  • PC Advisor in Ireland and the United Kingdom. (Another now discontinued magazine called Personal Computer World and a PC World retailer  — neither related to the PC World magazine  — already exist or existed in those markets.)
  • PC Welt, is the German language edition.
  • PCW, is the Hungarian language edition.[11]
  • Info Komputer, is the Indonesian language edition.
  • Kompiuterija, is the Lithuanian language edition.
  • Thế Giới Vi Tính, is the Vietnamese language edition (also called PC World Vietnam).
  • Mikro - PC World, is the Serbian language edition.
  • Мир ПК, is the Russian language edition.

Controversy edit

In May 2007, McCracken resigned abruptly under controversial circumstances. According to sources quoted in Wired, McCracken quit abruptly because the new CEO of PC World, Colin Crawford, tried to kill an unfavorable story about Apple and Steve Jobs.[12] Crawford responded, calling media reports of McCracken's resignation "inaccurate."[13] CNET later reported that McCracken had told colleagues that IDG "was pressuring him to avoid stories that were critical of major advertisers."[14][15]

On May 9, Crawford was transferred to another department, and McCracken returned to PC World until his departure in 2008.[16]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "eCirc for Consumer Magazines". Alliance for Audited Media. December 31, 2012. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  2. ^ "IDG Print Publication: PCWorld". Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  3. ^ "Goodbye, Kind PC World". Archived from the original on September 6, 2011.
  4. ^ "Editor in Chief Harry McCracken Returns to PCW". Archived from the original on October 4, 2011.
  5. ^ "contact Us Archived 2010-01-02 at the Wayback Machine." PC World Communications. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  6. ^ Deborah Wise (December 20, 1982). "Staff walks out on PC Magazine, starts new journal". InfoWorld. Popular Computing, Inc. 4 (50): 1, 10. ISSN 0199-6649.
  7. ^ "Timely News from the Interactive Entertainment Industry - PC World Reaches One Million". Archived from the original on May 20, 2001. Retrieved May 20, 2001.
  8. ^ Gaming Guide Archived June 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Bill Mickey (July 10, 2013). "IDG's PCWorld Going Digital-Only". Folio. Access Intelligence. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  10. ^ Harry McCracken (July 11, 2013). "PCWorld Exits Print, and the Era of Computer Magazines Ends". Time Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  11. ^ "Nem csak nevében újul meg a PC World: Mostantól PCW-ként szeretnénk még többet adni".
  12. ^ Kim Zetter, "PC World Editor Quits Over Apple Story" in Wired magazine, May 2, 2007.
  13. ^ "PC World editor quits during dispute over Apple story" in AppleInsider, May 3, 2007.
  14. ^ Tom Krazit, "PC World editor resigns over apparent ad pressure" from CNet, May 2, 2007.
  15. ^ "Editor quits after PC Mag kills Apple story" from MacNN, May 3, 2007.
  16. ^ Ramon G. McLeod, "Editor in Chief Harry McCracken Returns to PCW" Archived May 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine from PC World.com, May 9, 2007.

External links edit