The defining magazine story of 2012, the closure of the print edition of Newsweek, foreshadows what may be the most volatile year for magazines yet. More titles will shift to online-only, and even those that maintain their print editions will look increasingly to circulation and digital advertising to make up for the steep declines in print ads, which show no signs of slowdown. News and celebrity magazines look especially vulnerable, as the web threatens to make their format obsolete. Certainly it’s an alarm that’s been sounded before. But the demise of Newsweek, one of the best-known brands in magazines and one of the biggest to fall victim to the digital stampede, has emphasized the looming problem like never before. The industry is in deep flux. “Although people will always–hopefully–want to read what we now call a magazine, magazines have to stop thinking about themselves in the traditional way and have to start thinking of themselves more as content providers, with the content being distributed on the platform most suitable for the content itself–print, web, tablet, smartphone, etc.,” says Martin S. Walker, chairman at Walker Communications, a print consultancy. In the coming year, magazines will be focusing more and more on furthering their brands rather than simply selling a print product.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
For Magazines, 2012 A Year of Transition
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/for-magazines-another-year-of-transition/
The defining magazine story of 2012, the closure of the print edition of Newsweek, foreshadows what may be the most volatile year for magazines yet. More titles will shift to online-only, and even those that maintain their print editions will look increasingly to circulation and digital advertising to make up for the steep declines in print ads, which show no signs of slowdown. News and celebrity magazines look especially vulnerable, as the web threatens to make their format obsolete. Certainly it’s an alarm that’s been sounded before. But the demise of Newsweek, one of the best-known brands in magazines and one of the biggest to fall victim to the digital stampede, has emphasized the looming problem like never before. The industry is in deep flux. “Although people will always–hopefully–want to read what we now call a magazine, magazines have to stop thinking about themselves in the traditional way and have to start thinking of themselves more as content providers, with the content being distributed on the platform most suitable for the content itself–print, web, tablet, smartphone, etc.,” says Martin S. Walker, chairman at Walker Communications, a print consultancy. In the coming year, magazines will be focusing more and more on furthering their brands rather than simply selling a print product.
The defining magazine story of 2012, the closure of the print edition of Newsweek, foreshadows what may be the most volatile year for magazines yet. More titles will shift to online-only, and even those that maintain their print editions will look increasingly to circulation and digital advertising to make up for the steep declines in print ads, which show no signs of slowdown. News and celebrity magazines look especially vulnerable, as the web threatens to make their format obsolete. Certainly it’s an alarm that’s been sounded before. But the demise of Newsweek, one of the best-known brands in magazines and one of the biggest to fall victim to the digital stampede, has emphasized the looming problem like never before. The industry is in deep flux. “Although people will always–hopefully–want to read what we now call a magazine, magazines have to stop thinking about themselves in the traditional way and have to start thinking of themselves more as content providers, with the content being distributed on the platform most suitable for the content itself–print, web, tablet, smartphone, etc.,” says Martin S. Walker, chairman at Walker Communications, a print consultancy. In the coming year, magazines will be focusing more and more on furthering their brands rather than simply selling a print product.
