SAN CLEMENTE, CA (BRAIN) — Paved Magazine's final issue hit newsstands Tuesday.
GrindMedia, which also publishes Bike Magazine, said the Winter 2013 issue of the road cycling quarterly will be its last. The publisher said a crowded marketplace and a struggling bike industry contributed to the decision to close.
One employee, a sales rep, will be laid off as a result of the closure, publisher Morgan Meredith told BRAIN. "(Paved editor) Joe Parkin will remain a trusted contributing editor for Bike Magazine," Meredith said. "All other current staff was shared with Bike Magazine and remain part of the team."
The decision will allow staff to focus on Bike, said Norb Garrett, senior vice president and group publisher at GrindMedia.
"Paved has a loyal following and fanbase, including all of us, so this decision is one we're saddened to have to make," Garret said in a press release. "But with a crowded marketplace and endemic industry working its way slowly out of a challenging economic environment, we determined it was appropriate for us to focus singularly on growing our position in the mountain bike space through Bike Magazine. I wish to thank our amazing team, especially editor Joe Parkin, photo editor David Reddick and art director Shaun Bernadou, for creating a best-in-class magazine that helped redefine the category. We are extremely proud of the team's accomplishments. Our team also wants to thank all of the readers and advertisers who have helped support Paved over the years."
Paved started publishing in the fall of 2010. Subscribers will be offered subscriptions to Bike instead.
Besides Bike, GrindMedia has additional 29 titles, including SURFER, SURFING, TransWorld SKATEboarding, POWDER, TransWorld Motocross, Snowboarder and Canoe & Kayak. GrindMedia is owned by Source Interlink Media LLC, which operates more than 75 publications and 100 websites, as well as events, TV shows and radio programs.
