TV Guide, the longtime ultimate source for what's on TV tonight, is getting a makeover and cutting back on its listings on shows.
"It's a shame. It's the passing of a part of television history," says Stephen Hofer, 65, a professor of media at Chicago State University who owns most of the 2,731 editions ever published (this week included).
But cable and sat TV services provide up-to-date listings on the tube.
"The daily newspaper and your own cable remote provide more instantaneous and better information than a little magazine that comes in the mail," said Kent Brownridge, general manager of Wenner Media, which publishes Rolling Stone and Us Weekly. "Admittedly, when [TV Guide] was first invented, it was a far, far, far simpler proposition. There were three networks, three local channels, no such thing as cable, DirecTV, HBO or premium cable. It was simple and pretty important information that people who'd just gotten into TV viewing needed. TV Guide provided it. Today, the information they need is much more complicated."
The makeover will also turn TV Guide into a full-sized magazine, not the pocketsize version that has sat on coffee tables for the past 52 years.
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