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The Passing of the Printing Press
We are familiar with the decline of newspapers in the Internet Epoch, and although we probably should not be surprised that this applies to magazines as well, I thought I'd get down this latest jeremiad on the passing away of the Age of the Printing Press:
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what you put on the cover of your magazine if no one will look at you. A few weeks ago, I was in a busy doctor’s office with a dozen others, absently paging through the magazines on the table. The table in front of us was stacked with the pride of American publishing, all manner of topics and fancy covers yelling for attention. Ever the intrepid media reporter, I looked up from scanning Bon Appétit to see what other people were interested in. A mother and a daughter were locked in conversation, but everyone else was busy reading — their phones.
Though, I am not sure I see the problem if we are simply talking about a change of medium. So what if people are now reading, say, "Newsweek" magazine on their phones and computers rather than the hardcopy magazine itself?
Maybe it is the proposition that Internet ads do not generate as much revenue as when readers had to buy their own hardcopy newspapers and magazines, and people do not expect to have to pay hard money to read e-news, and too many readers will happily turn to secondary outlets if the premium sites, such as the New York Times and such, put up paywalls. That could be a problem. Personally, I wouldn't mind paying for access to premium journalism, but who has money?
(Source: David Carr at The New York Times)
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what you put on the cover of your magazine if no one will look at you. A few weeks ago, I was in a busy doctor’s office with a dozen others, absently paging through the magazines on the table. The table in front of us was stacked with the pride of American publishing, all manner of topics and fancy covers yelling for attention. Ever the intrepid media reporter, I looked up from scanning Bon Appétit to see what other people were interested in. A mother and a daughter were locked in conversation, but everyone else was busy reading — their phones.
Though, I am not sure I see the problem if we are simply talking about a change of medium. So what if people are now reading, say, "Newsweek" magazine on their phones and computers rather than the hardcopy magazine itself?
Maybe it is the proposition that Internet ads do not generate as much revenue as when readers had to buy their own hardcopy newspapers and magazines, and people do not expect to have to pay hard money to read e-news, and too many readers will happily turn to secondary outlets if the premium sites, such as the New York Times and such, put up paywalls. That could be a problem. Personally, I wouldn't mind paying for access to premium journalism, but who has money?
(Source: David Carr at The New York Times)