John Micek writes:

I'm not  sure how that makes Stewart part of the problem, exactly.
I think part of  the problem with a magazine like ND is that it's so  
niche-y that it  probably has a limited life-span. I'd gotten the  
sense in the last  few years that the air had kind of gone out of  
alt.country/ND music.  I'm not sure who's still pushing the boundaries  
of the genre.  There's only so much choir-preaching you can do before  
you run out  of new converts, after all.
And, as a guy who works full-time in the media  biz (newspapers), it  
really is mutate or die out  there.



Not nearly as niche-y as, say, much of the music discussed on  this list. 
While I always had a problem with the Gram Parsons/Uncle Tupelo/Jayhawks  
worship aspect of ND, the magazine provided exposure to a lot of worthwhile  
artists who otherwise got ignored by the music press. The issue sitting in  front 
of me has lengthy features on Otis Taylor and Malcolm Holcombe - neither  of 
whom can be defined by some narrow definition of "alt-country." When was  the 
last time Mojo took chances like that?
 
Readership wasn't the problem. It was advertising. To ND's credit, they  
never watered down the product to lure potential advertisers (unlike daily  
newspapers, who do this all the time).
Btw, I've been in newspapers for nearly half my life. I vow to be out  by my 
birthday (March 18). A horrible, horrible industry.
 
Jim McGuinness
who is entering his bitter years and enjoying every moment
 
 



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