I'm a relative newbie in woodworking, so I don't know the history of FWW.
However, I will say that it is my choice, by far, of any of the publications
currently in print, regardless of whether it has slipped a notch.

I'm an aviation enthusiast and subscribe to a publication called "Sport
Aviation". 10 years ago, I thought every article was fascinating. However,
120 issues later, I don't see nearly as many interesting articles. Why?
The writing and focus have changed some, so that's part of it. However, the
biggest thing is that there are only so many articles that can be written
about the core of the subject without duplicating material. That leaves the
magazine to either publish redundant articles or publish articles that are
so out of the mainstream that they don't interest anyone.

Its a heck of a problem to have...