The Cutting Edge: Computing / Technology / Innovation : The Reader’s Digest Version of CD-ROM

Reader’s Digest, one of the biggest names in publishing and a standard bearer for the world of print, with more than 28 million copies of the monthly magazine sold worldwide, is going interactive.

The Pleasantville, N.Y.-based publishing empire said Tuesday that it is joining with Microsoft Corp. to develop home computer programs in the CD-ROM format, based on its Reader’s Digest books.

The first multimedia title is scheduled for release in the second half of 1995 and will be based on information and illustrations from selected Reader’s Digest reference books, the publisher said in a statement.

While neither Reader’s Digest nor Microsoft would divulge the title or subject of the software, a Reader’s Digest spokeswoman said the first CD-ROM would be based on the company’s publications, which also include Travel Holiday and the Family Handyman.

Travel Holiday is already available to computer users through America Online and the Family Handyman can be accessed on CompuServe.

The new product “is a natural progression” for Reader’s Digest, said spokeswoman Lesta Cordil, which publishes its flagship magazine in 17 languages. It will publish a magazine in its 18th language, Polish, shortly.

While the CD-ROM version of Reader’s Digest publications will not replace the printed page, it is a way of making the most of the company’s products while taking advantage of the latest technology, she said.

Reader’s Digest has the editorial content, but it “didn’t have the technical know-how” to produce a product for the home computer, Cordil said. Therefore, “we went with the best,” meaning Microsoft, to help develop and sell the product.

The CD-ROM will be marketed by both companies, through mail order by Reader’s Digest, and at retail stores by Microsoft. It will carry both the Microsoft Home and the Reader’s Digest brand names.