Last month saw the demise of South Florida CEO, a business magazine born as Miami Business a decade ago. A darn shame, as magazines that actually provide content do not abound in Miami.

And that wasn't all – Latin Trade, a local monthly founded 15 years ago, let go its staff of 15, and has stopped printing its magazine. Yet another Miami lifestyle/shelter magazine is scheduled to close in April.

Also last month, Moody's reviewed the ratings of The McClatchy Companies for a possible downgrade due to decreased cash flow caused by declining advertising sales.

It would be an understatement to say it wasn't a good month for media in Miami. As for what lies ahead, it is anyone's guess.

The proliferation of free content, either by way of the web or the printed piece, has created a dilemma in the marketplace – particularly during these recessionary times.

The more that publications facilitate access to free content, the more they rely on advertising revenue to support the editorial content. And therein lies the crux.

A few years back, the free distribution model gained national momentum with the proliferation of luxury lifestyle magazines, typically low in content and high in visuals: celebrities, fashion models, party pics and night scenes, all preceded by volumes of ads. Magazine brands were enhanced with lavish parties abounding with gorgeous sexy beings. All well and good for the chroniclers of the glitz and the night glitter.

What followed was precarious: typically serious content providers like business and trade publications imitated the luxe life books by adopting free distribution, yielding even more power to the almighty ad dollar.

At Miami Monthly, we fell into it almost by accident. The publications that preceded our city/regional – Coconut Grove Times, Brickell Post and South Miami Times – followed the community publication model of free delivery for years. As we converted to a city/regional magazine, we did not re-evaluate our distribution, but rather expanded it. Today we have the highest circulation of any and all publications in Miami-Dade – except the Herald, of course.

But now, we are re-evaluating – for a number of reasons.

"It's time to declare the free-content model has failed. Quality content is too expensive to produce and too valuable to its readers to give away. In fact, the act of giving it away devalues it even more," declared Donn Friedman of the Albuquerque Journal during an industry panel. It is extremely costly to create and provide quality and substantial editorial content, not to mention financially burdensome to give it away.

Atlanta Magazine, a city/regional like Miami Monthly, commissioned a study by Monroe Mendelsohn Research to determine how the residents of Atlanta, Dallas, and Los Angeles felt about magazines they pay for, versus free regionals mailed to their homes, Folio magazine reported. The study found that free magazines "proved to be significantly less likely to be read and significantly less likely to be valued than paid magazines."

That seems to be how the industry lines are being drawn – fluffy and pretty: give it away; content and substance: pay for what you get. This has grown to the extent that some of our more substantial newspapers and magazines across the nation have begun charging for access to their websites, with paid print subscribers retaining their web access for free.

After publishers' initial rush to create the massive content give-away which has dominated the market in the last several years, the time of reckoning has arrived. The decline in subscriber bases fueled by free content online is seeing a reversal, as publishers again recognize not only the value of substantial content, but the recurring expenses associated with its production.

Miami Monthly will soon follow suit, starting with a transition from controlled circulation, to paid subscription. For not only do we intrinsically challenge the premise of providing expensively-generated editorial for free, but the market realities demand it.

Should this lead to a scenario in which editorial – its quality, substance and scope – is not solely dependent on advertisers whims and fancies, so much the better.

Miami Monthly's transition to paid subscriptions will be slow and methodical, strategically planned to maintain our high circulation figures and the numbers verified by our independent circulation audit. However, I do directly ask you to help jump-start the program.

Now is the time for those who enjoy and value our city, county and neighborhood news; our business and political coverage, plus our arts, cultural and entertainment listings, to step up to the plate. Be it for all those past issues you've enjoyed for free, or for the ones you want to enjoy in the future.

Don't wait, and subscribe today. Tomorrow may be too late. Please visit MiamiMonthlyMagazine.com, fill out your subscription form and show us your support.

This way you'll get what you pay for, and it's still a hell of a deal.