Grit.cx changes editor, cuts print magazine, moves toward digital weekly
Singletrack’s cyclocross-focused sister title Grit.cx is to reduce its print output from four issues to one annual volume.
Though the format is changing, the publisher did outline a strategy to ensure article and review output does not cease, instead planning to increase the feed via a redesigned website to be unveiled in a few weeks time.
Citing price increases in the paper and print industries, as well as changing spend habits of cycling industry marketing teams, Grit said that it has undertaken a “rethink (of) our publishing strategy at a fundamental level.”
“We have always run grit.cx on a very tight budget and that makes us very sensitive to changes in the way the industry operates.
“In order to survive we have had to make some considerable cuts to our expenditure, the largest of which is the cost of print and its distribution. We’ve thought long and hard about the best way to reshape grit.cx and we have decided that we are going to reduce the frequency of the printed output from four issues to a single, large, annual volume,” the publisher said.
In tandem with the announcement Jeff Lockwood, who has steered the ship since launch and has left for Ritchey, has passed the Editor’s torch to Karen Brooks.
The redesigned Grit.cx website will “offers subscribers exclusive access to a continuous feed of not just news and reviews, but also high quality magazine style features, opinions, reports and articles,” said Singletrack.
“We’ve rethought the website from the ground up and it will be fully integrated with our apps in both the android and iOS stores.”
Starting from mid-March users are promised the return to the magazine’s original digital format, though with increased publication from four issues a year to once weekly.
Speaking about the annual printed product the publisher adds:
“We still love print and we are not ready to let it go just yet, which is why we will be printing and distributing to all our subscribers the grit.cx annual towards the end of the year. This will be a high quality, full A4 sized journal made up of a combination of the best digital features of the year laid out in print and a collection of print exclusive features too.
“Although we will be cutting back on the print we want to reassure you that we have no intention of cutting back on the content. In fact we are confident that with the savings we can make on print costs we can increase and improve the journalism that we make available exclusively for all our subscribers.”
Karen Brooks brings to her new role over 20 years in the bicycle industry, including time spent at both Dirt Rag magazine and Bicycle Times as the editor.
Brooks has been involved with Grit.cx since the early days, contributing to issue 6 and issue 9, among other articles.
“I’ve had a lot of fun working with Jeff and other staffers for Grit.cx,” Karen said. “And I’ve certainly enjoyed reading the stories he has curated. So I’m excited to carry on Jeff’s work. Hopefully I’ll learn once and for all how to properly spell the word ‘tyre’.”