After more than 150 years the British Journal of Photography is to cease weekly publication and will return to being a monthly. Established in 1854 as a monthly, the BJ went fortnightly in 1857 and then weekly in 1864. The 3 March 2010 issue will be the first of a redsigned monthly magazine. The move leaves Amateur Photographer (established 1884) as the only weekly British photographic magazine.
Changing market conditions and the growth of the internet have precipitated the change. The BJ has a strong web and blog presence but for the last few years its influence within photography has declined as it has focused more on press, fashion and the image, moving away from a more general concern with photography. It's heyday was probably during the 1980s when a range of contributors under the editorship of Geoffrey Crawley kept readers informed about everything from holography and history, to interviews with business personalities as well as photographers. It's worth quoting one of the aims of the journal from issue no. 1 of January 14 1854: 'The admirers of the art naturally desire to have more particulars, and the practical operators more full and precise records of the suggestions, experiments, and successes in various parts of the world' by the end of 1854 it was able to be claim that it held 'the position of principal Provincial organ of Photography'.
The change is the end of an era for the British photographic press. For most of its history the BJP was always the most important journal of photography reporting news and features across the full spectrum of photography. It is sad that has now ended.
Read nore here: http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=873499
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