[Coco] Re: Old Color Computer Information

[ostro011]

On 17 Oct 2003, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz wrote:
> At 08:09 AM 10/17/03 CDT, ostro011 wrote:
> >I know you struggled mightily to keep your UnderColor Magazine
> >going.  But what does this last sentence mean about "destruction of our
> >work"?  Are these details OK to discuss?  I'd love to hear more.
> 
> First, a little about grammar. :) I wrote, "I started UnderColor, which
> failed after 11 issues, as a result of the Ziff-Davis destruction of our
> work."
> 
> That was like reelly reely bad grammar dood, a perfect example of what
they
> taught us not to do back in whack-yer-wrists elementary school. It should
> have read, "As a result of the Ziff-Davis destruction of our work, I
> started UnderColor, which failed after 11 issues."
> 
> Now if your question is still the same, here's what happened; I told this
> story at one of the Last CoCoFests in Illinois some years ago:
> 
> Jim Povic, the publisher of The Color Computer Magazine (and other rags),
> was courted by Ziff-Davis in the usual manner: "We love it, we want to
> expand it, same staff, same location, full editorial control to you even
> through we'll own it! We just want to give you more money and our New
York
> high-powered backing to make it great!" (I've always assumed Jim was
duped
> by Z-D, and not a conspirator in this.)
> 
> What happened, of course, was that a few weeks later I got a phone call
in
> the late night from my editor, something like "Z-D is coming in the
morning
> to lock everything down. Get over here now!" Over there, of course, was 5
> hours away, but I careened from Vermont over the Kankamagus Pass through
> New Hampshire and up the coast of Maine to Camden in time to grab the
TCCM
> mailing list, the editorial material still in progress, our author
contact
> info, and anything else I could remotely justify as 'our work'. I wrote a
> quick paragraph about where I was heading (some of you actually read it
and
> figured out what was going on) and had it slipped into the galleys
without
> Z-D's knowledge. Those sentences appeared at the end of my column in the
> final issue of TCCM.
> 
> And sure enough, Z-D goons showed up in the morning and despite pleas
from
> the publisher, had the offices locked by noon and carted out everything.
> They fired the staff, sent the rather naive editor-in-chief (not my
editor)
> down to New York for a few weeks (or was it months?) of busy work, and
then
> shut down TCCM entirely (as they did with all the other publications they
> bought that might compete with their flagship magazines).
> 
> Z-D destroyed everybody's work (in-progress articles, artwork, designs,
> galleys, and even submissions) either physically or by killing their
> publication.
> 
> UnderColor was started shortly thereafter, with the TCCM mailing list for
> initial contacts. Unfortunately, we were way undercapitalized, half our
> advertisers didn't pay, and by issue #11, I had run out of money. I
'sold'
> UnderColor to Lonnie Falk (what a mistake) in exchange for extending the
> Rainbow subscriptions to UnderColor subscribers, and for his promise that
I
> could keep a column running in his magazine. That's a story of
incompetence
> and editorial interference that's still depressing.
> 
> By then I had spent everything I had made on my TRS-80 books and articles
> keeping Green Mountain Micro afloat. I kept accruing debt, and by 1986
the
> company fell apart with the drug death of GMM's vice president and the
> collapse of the Tandy computer line. For those who have heard my whole
> whining tale before, you'll be happy to know that my GMM debt will be
paid
> off finally after 18 years, in June 2004. :)
> 
> Dennis
> 
> 
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> 


WOW !!  All I can say is, "WOW !!  And I'm sorry for opening up a deep, old
wound."

Are those Z-D crazies still in charge?  And speaking of Ziff-Davis. I think
they were the publishers of Yahoo, Internet Life.  I loved getting that
publication for a couple years , and then it disappeared about 2 months
after I sent in my renewal.  No explanation from Z-D, and no answer to any
of my mail or e-mails.  In fact, trying to find reference to the magazine
on the net became very difficult.  Any idea what happened?

Thanks for sharing all the above.

-- Steve --