BILLBOARD buys R&R

Geeze, after The Bobby Poe Survey shut down, I didn't think Gavin would EVER fold, but it did. Now Billboard's parent company, VNU, has purchased R&R Magazine. The two last major radio trade publications that have not yet yielded to an all digital on line radio magazine will soon be one magazine, sort of like the end of an era. I can say that I think I have read every issue of Billboard and R&R since 1979, and have been featured in several issues of both, woo hoo! So I guess it is like the end of a good, long run for those of us in the biz that used to depend on those two publications for our much needed window to the radio world outside of our own towns. Allaccess.com has sort of taken away the "eagerness" to get that new issue of R&R or Billboard each week, especially the "Vox Jox" section in Billboard (my favorite column), since allaccess.com has all the radio world news bright and early before 11am every weekday.
There are pros and cons to this merge, many say that R&R has turned into a 'Rag magazine" over the years, others say that Billboard is a joke. Either way, it is what you make of it, if they keep all the main components of R&R, the new combo will continue to be a tool of the trade for this radio buff.