Rolling Stone Magazine to Shrink

      MUSIC NEWS- Facing the continuing rising costs in the print media, after 40 years, Rolling Stone Magazine will shrink down to standard magazine size, like all others.  They'll start this week, with their October 30 issue.  The original rock 'n roll bible for millions, Rolling Stone continues to attract large readership, but needs to save where it can, faced with new media and niche competition in print and on-line. The circulation has stayed stable at around 1.45 million since 2006.  They've changed formats twice before, after first publishing in 1967 as a tabloid-size newspaper because that's what they could afford.   They switched to a four-color publication in 1973, then to magazine-quality paper in 1981.  At that time it also shrank to its just-dropped 10-by-12-inch size and then became a magazine-newspaper hybrid.  An interesting social comment, they chose Democratic Presidential candidate, Barack Obama for the cover of the new size issue, with the Republican candidate, John McCain on the last issue of the old oversize format !