I still remember the first time I got a byline in VIBE; a forgettable, four-paragraph piece about super-talented character actor Steve Harris, who was playing chrome-domed lawyer Eugene Young on ABC's The Practice.

Didn't matter how small the gig was, though. It allowed me to put VIBE magazine on my resume, and that's all I cared about.

VIBE was the Rolling Stone magazine for black music and black culture, featuring hip-hop-inspired columnists with patter so thick it was sometimes hard to read, and insight into the oddball ways of black artists who were less likely to get attention from mainstream music mags.

But all that is about to vanish. VIBE is shutting down, according to numerous reports on Gawker, AOL's Daily Finance blog and among journalists who should know. The closing places VIBE on a long and depressing list of magazines which have gone away this year, including Radio & Records and Blender. (cofounder Quincy Jones has said he wants to buy the magazine back, but it's unclear whether that's just idle talk)

Paid Content has a list of all the magazine which have folded this year, and the list includes:

Alpha Media Group: Blender—March (Online only);

Hearst: CosmoGirl—December-January (Online only);
Hallmark Cards: Hallmark Magazine—February-March (Shuttered)—Up 11 percent
Condé Nast: Portfolio—May (Online only)
Hearst: Oprah At Home—January (Shuttered)
Ziff Davis: PC Magazine—January (Online only)

Billboard: Radio & Records—June (Shuttered)
American Express: Travel + Leisure Golf—March-April (Website still live, but inactive)
Wicks Media Group: Vibe—June (Possibly online only—stay tuned)

Such a fate didn't seem possible back in 1993 when Jones founded the magazine, stirring up controversy when it was revealed that editor Jonathan Van Meter was a white guy. Eventually, VIBE's brand expanded to include a 1997 talk show and an annual awards ceremony. Check the magazine's history here.

But recent money troubles led to a sale in 2006 and more recently, cut salaries and shortened work weeks for staffers.

As the magazine prepares to officially announce its status later today, the only question left is how many great pop culture magazines will vanish before this awful media recession ends?  

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