Skin diver is gone..?

[Devils_advocate]

I have been subscribed to Skin Diver since1994 and this is what I get for my long time membership....

Dear David -
Thank you for your e-mail regarding your Skin Diver subscription. After the November 2002 issue of Skin Diver was mailed out to you, Skin Diver's parent corporation, Primedia Inc., made the decision to cease publication of the magazine, which is why you have not received your December 2002 or January 2003 issues. As you can imagine, this left many people with unfulfilled subscriptions. However, Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine has recently made arrangements to honor the subscriptions of those Skin Diver readers, such as yourself, who were affected by the closure. In the near future, you will start to receive Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine in place of any remaining Skin Diver issues you were owed as part of your original subscription. We hope you will find Scuba Diving just as enjoyable and informative. If you have any questions or if I may be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact me.
:boom:Best regards, :boom:

:upset:

 

[JDostal]

Yeah, kind of suprising. Skin Diver has been around since the start...I haven't been diving for that lont but I've heard of it's reputation. Any clue why it died off? Just not enough readers?

 

[Rick Murchison]

Just in case you'd like to support Primedia with your business... or not... here's their list of publications:
Titles include:

American Baby
Automobile Magazine
IN-New York
Motor Trend
New York
Seventeen
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Weekly
Truck Trend
16 Magazine (quarterly)
Bop (monthly)
Cover Concepts
gURL.com
Teen Beat (monthly)
Tiger Beat (monthly)
Action Sports
Bike
Bodyboarding
Canoe & Kayak
Climbing
Dive Report
Kitplanes
Powder
Skateboarder
Skin Diver
Snowboarder
Surfer
Surfing
Surfing Girl
Volleyball
4-Wheel & Off-Road
4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility
5.0 Mustang & Super Fords
Auto Sound & Security
Car Audio and Electronics
Car Craft
Chevy High Performance
Circle Track
Classic Trucks
Corvette Fever
Custom Classic Trucks
Custom Rodder
European Car
eurotuner
Four Wheeler
High Performance Mopar
High Performance Pontiac
High-Tech Performance
Hot Rod
Import Tuner
Jp
Kit Car
Lowrider
Lowrider Euro
Mini Truckin'
Mopar Muscle
Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords
Mustang & Fords
Mustang Monthly
Off-Road
Popular Hot Rodding
Rod & Custom
Sport Compact Car
Sport Truck
Stock Car Racing
Street Rodder
Super Chevy
Super Street
Truckin'
Truckin's SUV
Turbo & High Tech Performance
Vette Magazine
VW Trends
Collectibles
Doll Reader
Teddy Bear and Friends
Crafts & Jewelry
Colored Stone
Crafts Magazine
CrafTrends
Creating Keepsakes
Lapidary Journal
Equine
Arabian Horse World
Dressage Today
EQUUS
Horse & Rider
Practical Horseman
EquiSearch
Garden & Country
Horticulture
High Technology Group
Audio Video Interiors
Home Theater
Mobile Computing And Communications
Stereophile
Stereophile Guide To Home Theater
American History
America's Civil War
Aviation History
British Heritage
Civil War Times
Columbiad
MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History
Military History
Vietnam
Wild West
World War II
Bowhunter
Bowhunting
Catfish Insider
Florida Sportsman
Fly Fish America
Fly Fisherman
Game & Fish
Gun Dog
Hunting
In Fisherman
In Fisherman Bass Guide
In Fisherman Catfish Guide
In Fisherman Ice Fishing Guide
In Fisherman Walleye Guide
North American Whitetail
Walleye In-Sider
Wildfowl
Wing & Shot
Marine
Power & Motoryacht
Sail
Dirt Rider
Hot Bike
Hot Rod Bikes
Motorcycle Cruiser
Motorcyclist
MXracer
Sport Rider
Street Chopper
Shutterbug
Photographic
Quilting & Sewing
McCall's Quilting
Quick Quilts
Quilter's Newsletter Magazine
Quiltmaker
Sew News
Guns & Ammo
Handguns
Rifle Shooter
Shooting Times
SHOT Business
Shotgun News
Bsketball News
NFL Insider
Pro Football Weekly
Slam

 

[chrispete]

I believe that Primedia also purchased Boardwatch (a tech rag for the old BBS geeks, later went to the early Internet crowd) a while back - that rag went the way of Skin Diver at that point, into complete obscurity... Maybe my memory has gotten a bit rusty, but seems like it was those guys that ended up sounding the death knell for that rag too....

 

[Devils_advocate]

Luckily for me I don't have anything off the list now that Skin Diver isn't there..... Otherwise I would have had to cancel them. Can you recommend any other good dive mag's?

 

[vr]

Omicron once bubbled...
Yeah, kind of suprising. Skin Diver has been around since the start...I haven't been diving for that lont but I've heard of it's reputation. Any clue why it died off? Just not enough readers?

Skin Diver began to decline long before Primedia bought the magazine. In fact, that decline began when Chuck Blakeslee and Jim Auxier sold the magazine to Petersen Publishing. Up to that point Skin Diver magazine played a vital role ih the history of scuba diving. After the sale it was just a magazine.

For many years it was the only diving magazine in the U.S. Over the years, any objectivity was done away with and advertising became not only the financial support of the magazine but its reason for existence. Cases of "reviews" bought by advertising dollars became common and reliable sources have reported them to be true.

With other magazines on the market, Skin Diver no longer had it all to itself. Magazines like Rodale's Scuba Diving offered some objectivity in equipment reviews that were not bought by advertising dollars. Skin Diver continued to decline, in quality, readership and advertising revenues.

Petersen Publishing was sold to EMAP in 1998. The blatant reviews for ads policy eased off, but no substative changes were made and Skin Diver continued much as before, on a downward spiral. A radical change in content and policy might have saved the magazine but no such changes were made. In 2001, EMAP sold their American concerns to Primedia.

Skin Diver continued its decline to the point were it could not be salvaged. Its end was inevitable. I don't blame Primedia for ending it any more than I blame Nikon for discontinuing the Nikonos line. When a product is no longer profitable. production usually ends. That what happened to Skin Diver.

It's sad but it was predictable. Another era in diving ended with their closing.

 

[Devils_advocate]

Back in 94' I used to send in the card asking for all the junk mail so that I could sit around and drool over it. All the while diving off my tables with my crappy gear in quaries and lakes. I kept copies of all of the issues that had dive guides to places that I wanted to vist. I had noticed over the years a change in the quality but lets face it there was also a surge of WWF on TV. What I'm trying to say is that everything goes through phases some almost as bad as WWF. But at anyways can you recommend a replacement for the hole that has been left in my heart.

 

[JDostal]

Rodales Scuba Diving isn't too bad. I've got a subscription to it. It's not the best dive magazine on earth, but it's not bad at all.

 

[DiverBuoy]

Doesn't do any good to subscribe to a new magazine unless it covers our sport as a replacement. I made a few modifications to the titles to make them more appealing to divers.

American Underwater Baby
Scuba Automobile Magazine
IN-New York SCUBA
Diver's Motor Trend
New York Diving
Seventeen Places to Dive
Soap Opera Divergest
Soap Opera Waterly
Truck Lagoon Trend
16 Gear Choices Magazine (quarterly)
Bop (monthly) Beginning OPen Water
Inwater Cover Concepts
gURL.com (Global Underwater Recreation Leisurely)
SCUBA Teen Beat (monthly)
Tiger DPV Beat (monthly)
Underwater Action Sports
SCUBA Bike
Bodyboarding & Scuba
Canoe & Kayak & Scuba
Climbing Reefs
Dive Report
Kitplanes & Scuba Kits
Drysuit Powder
Skateboarder Underwater
Skin Diver
Underwater Snowboarder
Underwater Surfer
Surfing & Scuba
Surfing Girl & Scuba Boy
Volleyball Underwater
4-Wheel & Off-Road & Underwater
Underwater 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility
Underwater 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords
Auto Sound & Security & Scuba
Car Audio and Electronics and Scuba
Underwater Car Craft
Chevy High Performance Scuba
Open Water Circle Track
Classic Trucks Dive Locations
Underwater Corvette Fever
Custom Classic Trucks Dive Sites
Custom Rodder & Scuba
Underwater European Car
eurotuner Underwater
Underwater Four Wheeler
High Performance Mopar Underwater
Underwater High Performance Pontiac
High-Tech Performance Underwater
Underwater Hot Rod DPVs
Underwater Import Tuner
Jp Underwater
Kit Car & Dive Kits
Scuba Lowrider
Underwater Lowrider Euro
Mini Truckin' with Scuba
Underwater Mopar Muscle
Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords & Scuba
Mustang & Fords & Scuba
Mustang Monthly & Scuba
Off-Road & Underwater
Popular Hot Rodding Underwater
Underwater Rod & Custom
Underwater Sport Compact Car
Underwater Sport Truck
Underwater Stock Car Racing
Underwater Street Rodder
Underwater Super Chevy
Wet Super Street
Truckin' Underwater
Truckin's SUV & DPV
Turbo & High Tech Performance SCUBA
Vette Magazine Underwater
VW Trends & DPV Trends
SCUBA Collectibles
Doll Reader Underwater
SCUBA Teddy Bear and Friends
Crafts & Jewelry Underwater
Colored Stone & Coral
SCUBA Crafts Magazine
CrafTrends Underwater
Creating Keepsakes Underwater
Open Water Lapidary Journal
Scuba Equine
Wet Arabian Horse World
Aqua Dressage Today
EQUUS Underwater
Sea Horse & Rider
Practical Sea Horseman
Aquatic EquiSearch
Coral Garden & Country
Reef Horticulture
SCUBA High Technology Group
Audio Video Interiors Underwater
Aquatic Home Theater
Mobile Computing And Communications Underwater
Stereophile & Wetsuit Lover
Underwater Stereophile Guide To Home Theater
American Underwater History
America's Underwater Civil War
Underwater Aviation & Wreck History
Underwater British Heritage
Civil War Times Wrecks
Underwater Columbiad
MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History Underwater
Military Underwater History
Scuba Diving in Vietnam
Wild West Diving
World War II Wrecks
Bowhunter & Spear Fishing
Bowhunting & Spear Fisher
Catfish Insider
Florida Sportsman
Fly Fish & Scuba America
Fly Fisherman & ScubaDiver
Game & Fish & Scuba
Gun & Scuba Dog
Underwater Hunting
InWater Fisherman
InWater Fisherman Bass Guide
InWater Fisherman Catfish Guide
InWater Fisherman Ice Fishing Guide
InWater Fisherman Walleye Guide
North American Whitetail InSpearfisherman
InWater Walleye In-Sider
Underwater Wildfowl
BP Wing & Lead Shot
Marine
Power & Motoryacht
Sail & Dive
Underwater Dirt Rider
Hot Scuba Bike
Hot Rod Bikes Underwater
Underwater Motorcycle Cruiser
Underwater Motorcyclist
MXracer Underwater
Underwater Sport Rider
Street Chopper Underwater
Scuba Shutterbug
Photographic Diver
Quilting & Sewing Underwater
McCall's Quilting Underwater
Quick Quilts Underwater
Underwater Quilter's Newsletter Magazine
Aquatic Quiltmaker
Scuba Sew News
Guns & Ammo & Scuba
Handguns & Scuba Divers
Underwater Rifle Shooter
Underwater Shooting Times
LEAD SHOT Business
Aquatic Shotgun News
Underwater Basketball News
Aquatic NFL Insider
Pro Football Weekly Underwater
Slam Divers

 

[Devils_advocate]

I liked

SCUBA Crafts Magazine

Quick Quilts Underwater

Sea Horse & Rider

Those would def. be high volume mag's!