"Issues just hasn't been able to attract the audience needed to make it financially successful," said Pepper Leeper, a spokeswoman for the Academy. "It never really broke even," she added, declining to release figures.
The 2 ½-year-old journal, aimed at scientists and an informed public, has a circulation of approximately 10,000—including just under 9,000 paid subscriptions at $36 per year for individuals or $56 for institutions. Advertising, while welcome, has been scant.
The news of the closing has generated a "small amount of interest" by other organizations looking to take over the publication, Leeper said, but no serious discussions have taken place. The Academy itself is considering other media-related activities similar to its recent "Planet Earth" series done in cooperation with public television.
Two more issues of the journal are planned, she said, the spring issue in early March and the summer issue in early June.
