Editing If (magazine) (section)

===Decline and merger with ''Galaxy''===
The new editor was [[Ejler Jakobsson]], though Pohl continued to be listed as editor emeritus on the masthead until the July–August 1970 issue.<ref name=issues/> Much of the editorial work was actually done by [[Judy-Lynn del Rey|Judy-Lynn Benjamin]], who was hired by Pohl in 1969 as an editorial assistant. The new regime failed to impress readers, and circulation dropped from over 67,000 for the year ending October 1968 to under 45,000 the following year, a drop of over 30%. ''If'' went bimonthly in May 1970, as Abramson attempted to juggle the frequency of publication of several of his titles to maximize profits; the page count and price were also adjusted more than once over the next year, again increasing profitability. Abramson also began a British distribution of ''If'', reprinted with a separate cover, priced in British currency. Circulation figures of the time show an increase of about 6,000 copies, but if this includes sales in the UK is not clear.<ref name=GF_53-6>Ashley, ''Gateways to Forever'', pp.&nbsp;53–56.</ref>

In May 1973, Judy-Lynn Benjamin (Judy-Lynn del Rey since her 1971 marriage to Lester del Rey) resigned. She was briefly replaced by Albert Dytch, but within four months, Dytch in turn left, and in August 1973, [[Jim Baen|James Baen]] joined UPD. He was made managing editor of ''If'' with effect from the January 1974 issue, and full editor one issue later; Jakobsson was listed as editor emeritus until the August 1974 issue. Baen had little opportunity to work with ''If'', however, as financial problems at UPD combined with the increasing cost of paper (a consequence of the rising price of oil) led to a decision to combine ''If'' with ''Galaxy''. Despite the fact that in 1974, ''If''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s circulation had exceeded ''Galaxy''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s for the first time,  ''Galaxy''  was retained and ''If'' was merged with it beginning with the January 1975 issue.<ref name=GF_56-62>Ashley, ''Gateways to Forever'', pp.&nbsp;56–62.</ref>