Good article that echoes many of my feelings about these publications. My pet theory about their decline has a different cause -- the kids have grown up. For me the golden age of S&T was the '60s and early '70s when people actually made things. We bought kits, made and figured mirrors, and sweat bullets to get a grainy astrophoto now and then. The hobby is now dominated by grey-haired old men, and although we talk about ATM, 99% of us would rather whip out a credit card than pour a pitch lap.
So yes, the two major magazines became little more than slick catalogs for the two major scope vendors -- they were simply reflecting the changes in their subscriber base. Other magazines like Amateur Astronomy filled the ATM niche abandoned by S&T when it went "Hollywood" in the '80s. But even they have devolved somewhat and now cater more to the old men with disposable income and less to the few young people still fascinated by the night sky.
Has light pollution hurt the hobby and magazine subscriptions? You bet, and that is one area where amateurs might effect real change. Is the answer ezines? IMO, no because the physical format was never the problem to begin with.
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