• The New York Times, Monday, May 5, 2008 11:02 AM

Among the big questions currently hovering over the media industry is can print media survive the transition to the Internet? The question has taken on new urgency, as the tanking economy places even more pressure on newspapers and magazines (whose customers and advertisers were already heading to the Internet in droves even before the recession).

The experience of International Data Group, a technology publisher, suggests that it can be done. The privately held company claims to have successfully migrated its publications to the Internet, where online ad revenue now surpasses that of print. However, the transition was not seamless: It took years of investment, upheaval and changes in its journalism practices.

"The excellent thing, and good news, for publishers is that there is life after print - in fact, a better life after print," said Patrick J. McGovern, the founder and chairman of I.D.G. InfoWorld, the company's flagship publication, completely moved its operations to the Web a year ago. In April 2007 it generated ad revenue of $1.5 million on a slight operating loss. Today, the Web site makes $1.6 million a month with an operating profit margin of 37%. Overall, 52% of the company's revenue is from online ads, while 48% comes from print.

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