The Magazine Scene

I just spent the week at the MPMC, a media conference in L.A. designed to bring together companies in the performance aftermarket with editors in the media. The meetings allow companies to tell their stories, show what's new and forge relationships with editors and writers for publications.

As an advertising and PR professional, as well as long time writer, I keep a firm grip on the pulse of the publishing industry. Since Gutenberg, the written word has probably been the most influential force in history. Communists relied deliberately and heavily on the written word to make in-roads in Latin America. Christianity has similarly relied on the written word, and for this reason was a major for in literacy from Reformation days onward.

Despite the pervasiveness of television and radio, magazines have remained strong as a valued resource for both information and diversion. But there are challenges for the magazines now. The cost of distribution is increasingly hefty, as well as the rising printing costs for staff, paper and ink.

This past year the housing crisis and banking crisis intersected the auto industry, with subsequent reverberations leaving many damaged companies all the down the line. As a result, advertising dollars have been in decline, resulting in a crisis for magazine publishers.

Editors today face many challenges, not least of which is the need to produce the same high quality content with reduced staff. Furthermore, the content has to be as such that it is less timely and more useful. Less timely because breaking news is already old news by the time it is in print. Most readers now tap Google News or other favorite portals to follow these more urgent topics. In short, magazine editorial must be deeper and compelling for reasons other than timeliness.

Of course, without readers you won't attract advertisers. And without advertisers you can't pay salaries, so then it is still more work for the last staff standing, and the quality must not suffer. Publishers are feeling the pinch because even with readers, many companies have closed their wallets in an effort to remain solvent during these tough times. I know of one company that sells larger ticket items which has not had a sale since August. It's hard to keep your doors open when no one is buying.

If you Twitter, and you wish to follow the shakedown of the publishing scene, be sure to follow TheMediaIsDying, who has a firm hand on the pulse of this market sector. (You can also follow me on Twitter as ennyman3)

ednote:

Not every mag publisher is a-tremblin',

Some rags are even thrivin'

But one thing's certain

at the end of the day

the Times they are a-changin'.