Editing PCMag (section)

== History ==
In an early review of the new IBM PC, ''[[Byte (magazine)|Byte]]'' reported that ''PC: The Independent Guide to the IBM Personal Computer'' "should be of great interest to owners".<ref name="williams198201">{{Cite news |last=Williams, Gregg |date=January 1982 |title=A Closer Look at the IBM Personal Computer |page=36 |work=BYTE |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1982-01/1982_01_BYTE_07-01_The_IBM_Personal_Computer#page/n37/mode/2up}}</ref> The first issue of '''''PC''''', dated February–March 1982,<ref name="pcmag1982febmar">{{Cite news |date=Feb–Mar 1982 |title=Front cover |page=1 |work=PC Magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_OhaFDePS4C&pg=PP1}}</ref> appeared early that year.{{r|sandler198411}} (The magazine was at first advertised as ''PC Guide''.<ref name="iw19820412">{{Cite magazine |date=1982-04-12 |title=IBM Personal Computer? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA29 |access-date=2025-03-16 |magazine=InfoWorld |page=29}}</ref> The word ''Magazine'' was added to the name with the third issue in June 1982,<ref name="bunnell19820607" /> but not added to the [[logo]] until January 1986.){{r|griffith20220927}} 

''PC Magazine'' was created by [[David Bunnell]], Jim Edlin, and Cheryl Woodard<ref>{{Cite web |title=Publishing Business Group: How We Started PC Magazine |url=http://www.publishingbiz.com/html/articlepcmag.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730072755/http://www.publishingbiz.com/html/articlepcmag.html |archive-date=2016-07-30 |website=www.publishingbiz.com}}</ref> (who also helped Bunnell found the subsequent ''[[PC World]]'' and ''[[Macworld]]'' magazines).  David Bunnell, Edward Currie and Tony Gold were the magazines co-founders. Bunnell and Currie created the magazine's business plan at [[Lifeboat Associates]] in New York which included, in addition to PC Magazine, explicit plans for publication of PC Tech, [[PC Week]] and PC Expositions (PC Expo) all of which were subsequently realized. Tony Gold, a co-founder of Lifeboat Associates financed the magazine in the early stages. The magazine grew beyond the capital required to publish it; to solve this problem, Gold sold the magazine to [[Ziff Davis|Ziff-Davis]], moving from California to [[New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=40 Years of PCMag: An Illustrated Guide |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/40-years-of-pcmag-an-illustrated-guide |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129161810/https://www.pcmag.com/news/40-years-of-pcmag-an-illustrated-guide |archive-date=2023-01-29 |website=PCMAG |language=en}}</ref> By February<!-- possibly January issue already? --> 1983<!-- February 1983 vol 1, no 10 --> it was published by PC Communications Corp., a subsidiary of Ziff-Davis Publishing Co.<!-- still without ISSN -->, Bunnell and his staff left to form ''[[PC World (magazine)|PC World]]'' magazine.<ref name="InfoWorld Dec 1982">{{Cite journal |last=Wise |first=Deborah |date=December 20, 1982 |title=Staff Walks Out on ''PC Magazine'', Starts New Journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 |journal=InfoWorld |publisher=Popular Computing, Inc. |volume=4 |issue=50 |pages=1–8 |issn=0199-6649 |access-date=2015-12-22  |archive-date=2024-07-14  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714134530/https://books.google.com/books?id=FTAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The first issue of ''PC'' carried an interview with [[Bill Gates]],<ref name="bunnell1982febmar">{{Cite news |last=Bunnell |first=David |date=Feb–Mar 1982 |title=The Man Behind The Machine? |page=16 |work=PC Magazine |type=interview |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_OhaFDePS4C&pg=PA16 |access-date=2020-11-18  |archive-date=2024-02-07  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207115455/https://books.google.com/books?id=w_OhaFDePS4C&pg=PA16#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> made possible by his friendship with David Bunnell, who was among the first journalists and writers to take an interest in personal computing.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lohr |first=Steve |date=1995-06-19 |title=Adapting 60's Sensibilities to the Internet |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/19/business/adapting-60-s-sensibilities-to-the-internet.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130133846/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/19/business/adapting-60-s-sensibilities-to-the-internet.html |archive-date=2018-11-30 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Early transition to square binding=== 
By its third issue ''PC'' was [[square binding|square-bound]], because it was too thick for [[saddle-stitch]]. At first the magazine published new issues every two months, but became monthly as of the August 1982 issue, its fourth.<ref name="bunnell19820607">{{Cite news |last=Bunnell |first=David |date=June–July 1982 |title=For Ten Minutes PC Was Free |volume=1 |page=19 |work=PC Magazine |issue=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_OhaFDePS4C&pg=RA2-PA19 |access-date=2020-11-18  |archive-date=2023-12-19  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219105223/https://books.google.com/books?id=w_OhaFDePS4C&pg=RA2-PA19#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 1983 a reader urged the magazine to consider switching to a biweekly schedule because of its thickness.<ref name="siebert198303">{{Cite news |last=Siebert, Bill |date=March 1983 |title=Double Time |page=31 |work=PC Magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7wCiNAUEuAMC&pg=RA1-PA31 |access-date=2020-11-18  |archive-date=2023-12-19  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219105224/https://books.google.com/books?id=7wCiNAUEuAMC&pg=RA1-PA31#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the magazine replied to the reader's proposal with "Please say you're kidding about the bi-weekly schedule. Please?",{{r|siebert198303}} after the December 1983 issue reached 800 pages in size,<ref name="pcmag198312">{{Cite news |date=December 1983 |title=Front cover |work=PC |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=05wAGZQlo9QC&pg=PP1 |access-date=2020-11-18  |archive-date=2023-12-19  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219105226/https://books.google.com/books?id=05wAGZQlo9QC&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> in 1984 ''PC'' began publishing new issues every two weeks, with each about 400 pages in size.<ref name="sandler198411">{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Corey |date=November 1984 |title=IBM: Colossus of Armonk |page=298 |work=Creative Computing |url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v10n11/298_IBM_colossus_of_Armonk.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928013638/http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v10n11/298_IBM_colossus_of_Armonk.php |archive-date=2013-09-28}}</ref> In January 2008 the magazine dropped back to monthly issues.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=PC Magazine issues list |url=https://www.pcmag.com/previous_issues/0,1881,p=4,00.asp |url-status=dead |magazine=PC Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328224315/http://www.pcmag.com/previous_issues/0,1881,p=4,00.asp |archive-date=28 March 2012}}</ref> Print circulation peaked at 1.2 million in the late 1990s. In November 2008 it was announced that the print edition would be discontinued as of the January 2009 issue, but the online version at pcmag.com would continue. By this time print circulation had declined to about 600,000.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lance Ulanoff |date=November 19, 2008 |title=PC Magazine Goes 100% Digital |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2335009,00.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108074718/http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2335009,00.asp |archive-date=2011-01-08 |website=PC Magazine}}</ref><ref name="NY Times Nov 19 2008">{{Cite news |last=Clifford |first=Stephanie |date=November 19, 2008 |title=PC Magazine, a Flagship for Ziff Davis, Will Cease Printing a Paper Version |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/business/media/20mag.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713175007/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/business/media/20mag.html |archive-date=2017-07-13}}</ref> In the December 2022 issue, it was announced that the issue was the last one following the magazine format, and focus was shifted to the pcmag.com website.

The magazine had no [[ISSN]] until 1983, when<!-- when exactly? Feb 1983 issue still had no ISSB, Dec 1983 issue had ISSN --> it was assigned {{ISSN|0745-2500}}, which was later<!-- when exactly? 1991-02 issue already was 0888-8507, but probably much earlier --> changed to {{ISSN|0888-8507}}.

PC Magazine uses [[Google Books]] as the official archive of its 27 years as a print publication.<ref name="griffith20220927">{{Cite magazine |last=griffith |first=eric |date=2022-09-27 |title=40 Years of PCMag: An Illustrated Guide |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/40-years-of-pcmag-an-illustrated-guide |url-status=live |magazine=PC Magazine |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129161810/https://www.pcmag.com/news/40-years-of-pcmag-an-illustrated-guide |archive-date=2023-01-29}}</ref>