UK mega-blog-network-wannabe Shiny Media has been forced into administration. The company, best know for its Shiny Shiny and Tech Digest gadget blogs, shelved 17 jobs back in February (as reported on this very blog) but it seems that was not enough to save it from going under.

paidContent:UK cites a memo from co-founder Chris Price, sent to freelancers, stating:

“The truth is that trading was extremely difficult and the position of the bank with regards to renewing the overdraft were very unfavourable.”

As reported by paidContent:UK, there are perhaps some plans afoot to attempt to save the ailing network and some of its more popular blogs, but the question remains: does an advertising funded, blogging, publishing model really work here in the UK?

For those in the PR industry, it is yet another sign of the changing times. Old media is undergoing perhaps the biggest change it has seen since the invention of the printing press and even new media – as typified by Shiny – is finding it hard work. With the democratisation of online media, the competition for eyeballs is just too great and businesses are looking for ways to make their advertising pounds work harder and more strategically.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens at Shiny, but what we do know is that the audience is still out there, even if the way we reach them is rapidly changing.