If you haven't noticed it, things are changing - more rapidly than any of us ever believed possible. With the burst of the housing bubble, the resultant recession has put incredible downward pressure on the woodworking market. Meanwhile media companies of all kinds are struggling to adapt to the new paradigm as people's reading and information gathering habits have changed.

That has put our magazines at the center of the perfect storm, and you've seen the results with shrinking magazines. The management of CabinetMaker and FDM has a proactive response -- a plan to revamp our two magazines and two Web sites into one unified brand.

As a result, in August we are publishing the last standalone issues of CabinetMaker and FDM. In September, you'll receive a new magazine, CabinetMaker+FDM, that will combine the best of our two magazines.

At the same time, our two Web sites, FDMOnline and CabinetmakerOnline, will be merged into one new site at www.CabinetMakerFDM.com. We will also launch three new electronic newsletters, to supplement  Shop Tips , our current monthly newsletter.

New media channel

We're not referring to the new CabinetMaker+FDM as a magazine or a Web site, but as a media channel. It is a repository of information that you can access however you choose - in print, on the Internet, via e-mail updates, through social media, and more channels to come.

We've spent years developing our current Web sites and working at interlinking them with the magazines. We've led the industry in the use of video and other new media, and have had active forums and now our active community,  Sawdust Soup . With this shift to CabinetMaker+FDM, we will take that digital/print interaction to a new level.

We've also published digital editions for the last five years and have a loyal base of readers who prefer the digital to print magazine. They like the instant access and links to multimedia features, such as  video , while contributing to the environment by saving paper. The number of digital subscribers will continue to grow, but contrary to rumors spread by our competition, we will continue to print magazines for the people who prefer a printed edition.

A model that makes sense

It's not an easy decision to merge FDM and CabinetMaker into one brand. FDM has been around since the 1950s, and CabinetMaker was launched in 1987. The magazines had evolved to where each had its own distinct circulation, reader focus and loyal readers. But a publishing model that made sense a few years ago, does not make sense today.

We've done our research on what our audience is looking for. We will continue to focus on those topics. Our goal hasn't changed - we will continue to be the industry's leading source of information - delivered in the media you choose.