Why were BYTEs advertising revenues declining?
It would be great if a magazine popular with readers would be equally popular with advertisers, but it’s not necessarily the case. Modern advertisers tend to prefer a very focused audience. It was always difficult to articulate BYTE’s focus. From its start in 1975, BYTE was a technology-oriented multiplatform magazine. BYTE adhered to that formula for 23 years. But that’s exactly the opposite of almost all other computer magazines, which are product-oriented and platform-specific. The vast majority of today’s computer magazines will not cover any platform besides “Wintel” (Microsoft Windows on Intel x86), and they will not cover new technology until it’s packaged as a product for sale in stores. BYTE’s approach was very different. Back to frequently asked questions Why did BYTE focus on technology and cover multiple platforms? There’s definitely a need for product magazines, but somebody must cover new technology — after all, this is a technology-driven industry. Once a magazine decid
