After 40 years of covering the motorcycle industry, weekly magazine Cycle News ceased publishing nearly three months ago, survived only its website. It looks like the brand will live on though, as Cycle News has been acquired by the Motorsport Aftermarket Group (MAG), the owner of such brands like Vance & Hines, Renthal, and Performance Machine. MAG will now own and operate the cyclenews.com site, and will bring back former editor Paul Carruthers, who left Cycle News right before it stopped publication. MAG plans on focusing with an online publication strategy, with the possibility of a print edition coming out at some later time.
It will be interesting to see how Cycle News adapts to a pure-play online format, competing head-to-head with other online venues. Print magazines have traditionally had a hard time adapting to the fast pace and different value sets of the online world, which is part of the reason Cycle News folded in the first place. Talking with print journalists during our time reviewing the Yamaha Super Ténéré, it was apparent to me at least the vastly different cultures and processes between the print and online worlds, we’ll see how MAG’s influence can guide Cycle News in this respect. As always, time will tell.
Source: Dealer News
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