The days of general-interest magazines surviving on subscription fees and newsstand sales to finance themselves are almost at an end, Norman Pearlstine, the editor-in-chief of Time Inc., said in a recent interview with The Asahi Shimbun.

Pearlstine was referring to the Time Warner Inc. group's decision to revive Life Magazine this month as a free insert tucked inside the Friday editions of major U.S. dailies.

He said the traditional approach of publishing general-interest magazines, which requires massive advertising investments to maintain a large readership, cannot compete with today's nimbler rivals, such as free newspapers and Internet-based media firms.

Pearlstine, a former Tokyo bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, was in Tokyo this week for a forum titled Reinventing Japan, co-sponsored by The Asahi Shimbun and Fortune, a Time publication.

In resurrecting Life after a four-year hiatus, Time entered into an alliance with about 70 U.S. newspapers based in major cities, including New York and Los Angeles.

Life, established as a photojournalism weekly in 1936, was a major influence on U.S. magazine journalism. After a six-year hiatus during the 1970s, the magazine returned as a monthly, remaining so until 2000.

Time, the publishing division of the leading U.S. media conglomerate, concluded it would be pointless not to take advantage of Life's brand name, which remained well-known years after its discontinuation.

Pearlstine said it was easy to see that the traditional approach of relying on subscription revenues and newsstand sales would fail sooner or later.

He acknowledged that specialized magazines targeted at specific readerships could still do well as paid publications.

But for general-interest magazines, he added, it is time to follow the footsteps of free newspapers, which are making their presence felt in Europe and the United States, to survive in an increasingly competitive environment.

Pearlstine cited the example of Sports Illustrated, which took eight years to recoup its initial investments.

Life chose to rely on the large readerships of the newspapers.

Still, Pearlstine believes it will take some time before Life can make ends meet, adding that even at its heyday, the magazine did not turn a significant profit, despite selling 7.5 million copies.

Pearlstine and other Time executives visited Tokyo for the Thursday forum.

Professor Ezra Vogel of Harvard University gave an address, while seven Japanese business leaders, including Shinsei Bank President Masamoto Yashiro, participated in panel discussions.(IHT/Asahi: October 30,2004) (10/30)