ComputerWorld is only 58 pages this week (and eWeek is only 64–but that's a story for another time). Given that this is October, and the usual summer advertising doldrums are over, this is not a promising sign.

However, ComputerWorld's been on deathwatch forever–and Pat McGovern, the owner of CW's parent, IDG–has a well-established fondness for the tabloid that defies logic. And he can afford to be irrational. He has lots of cash, no debt, and no real reason to cut off CW's life support now; it took him nearly a decade of red ink to sell off Federal Computer Week to 101 Communications, and that paper was something he started out of spite over Ziff's joint venture with Cahners at GCN (my alma mater, now owned by Post-Newsweek).

So, don't look for Pat to fold CW anytime soon; he's more likely to slash InfoWorld (and that's mighty unlikely as well).

ComputerWorld is only 58 pages this week (and eWeek is only 64–but that's a story for another time). Given that this is October, and the usual summer advertising doldrums are over, this is not a promising sign.

However, ComputerWorld's been on deathwatch forever–and Pat McGovern, the owner of CW's parent, IDG–has a well-established fondness for the tabloid that defies logic. And he can afford to be irrational. He has lots of cash, no debt, and no real reason to cut off CW's life support now; it took him nearly a decade of red ink to sell off Federal Computer Week to 101 Communications, and that paper was something he started out of spite over Ziff's joint venture with Cahners at GCN (my alma mater, now owned by Post-Newsweek).

So, don't look for Pat to fold CW anytime soon; he's more likely to slash InfoWorld (and that's mighty unlikely as well).