Forbes Media, a family business publishes Forbes magazine and makes digital media and native advertising, which used to be one of the most powerful news brands in business journalism, is now up for sale. Isn’t it unbelievable?

Forbes was facing enormous challenges in competition with Condé Nast, Hearst Corp and Time Magazines and it was devastated In the financial crisis in 2008, and from then on it began to develop into the field of digital media. Forbes, Wealth, Business Week and The Economist are the leading business magazines, influencing the whole world.  and the ranking of billionaires had even become the trend of economic indicators. However, why is such a great magazine selling out right now? This is a question puzzling and surprising people.

Since the sharp decline in advertising revenue, shrinking in circulation and the rise of non-traditional media platforms, news publishing industry/paper media is facing a very difficult period. There has been a number of high-profile magazines chosen to sell in the past three years, including Business Week, Newsweek and Maxim magazines, and many were turnover at a low price. Paper media, as a carrier of traditional media, the news content in paper media in the future may be a form of supplement reading. With the rapid development of technology, release of all kinds of electronic products like ebook and software such as ibook, newsstand, the future generations will likely to read news and magazines on electronic screens. As the graph shown below, in 2013, the percentage US households taking weekday newspaper has reached its minimum since 1940.

Moreover, people’s awareness of environment protection gradually increase over time, increasing number of people would choose the greener living style.

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