Feed Magazine

• 1. Introduction

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  Feed Magazine launched in New York in May 1995. Co-founded by Stefanie Syman and Steven Johnson, it arrived when daily web journalism was barely a concept. Novelist Sam Lipsyte joined as one of its editors. The publication relied entirely on original writing, covering media, pop culture, technology, science, and the arts. From the beginning, the open question was whether original web journalism could sustain itself on advertising revenue alone.

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• 2. A Devoted Readership

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  Critical acclaim marked Feed as something distinct from the disposable writing that populated most early websites. It built a devoted following among an alternative readership drawn to serious, original web writing. As a small independent publication, however, Feed struggled throughout its existence to convert that admiration into sufficient advertising revenue. That persistent gap left Feed increasingly exposed. The partner that eventually joined forces with it was the popular editorial site Suck.com.

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• 3. The End of Automatic Media

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  In July 2000, following a sharp downturn in internet investment, the two sites merged to form a company called Automatic Media. Both publications hoped that combining operations would let them cut staffing costs while preserving their editorial identities. Their joint project, Plastic.com, aimed to operate with a fraction of what each site had previously required. The new company, however, could not generate the advertising revenue needed to survive. Automatic Media folded in June 2001. Feed and Suck.com had together drawn more than one million readers; Plastic.com, their joint venture, employed just four people.

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