Is print dead? Over the past decade,
a reoccurring theme has been about the print industry and its rapid decline. Due
to advancements in technology, there seems to be a negative influence on the
publishing industry. The rapid decline in print revenues has made these
publications seem outdated. For print newspapers this may be true. However, for
print magazines, this is very far off. According to Magazine Media Readers are Social, 93% of all their respondents
have read or looked into a print magazine in the last 60 days.
Lifestyle magazines in particular
have been popular for several years now and are absolutely thriving. There are tons
of lifestyle magazines both for men and women that entail everything such as
health, fitness, fashion, beauty, decorating and much more. According to the 2014 Magazine
Media Factbook, magazines are more trusted, inspiring and influential than
any other type of media. The magazine industry has a very committed following
of readers which leads to engagement of magazines on all media platforms. Physical
print copies may be slowing down but they are not going anywhere yet, at least
not anytime soon.
With advancements in technology,
doors have opened for the magazine industry. Many lifestyle magazines have recently
launched online versions of their publications including new and different
features. Online versions of these publications allow for a better experience
since they include features that the print magazines cannot. The best feature
of online publications includes videos, such as “how-to’s”. People love reading
about new ideas and ways of doing things but nothings better than watching a
tutorial.
According to Magazine Media Readers and Smartphones, “The smartphone is shaping
up to be the next frontier for delivering magazine media content.” 83% of
respondents accessed or downloaded a magazine branded. From those people who have
read digital magazines, 60% have actually visited the magazines website as a
result. Since technology has improved, there is now a huge opportunity for
magazines to transition from print to digital on many different platforms. Barbara
Rowlands said in her article The Fall and
Rise Of Magazines From Print To Digital, “The print product is to linger
over, but the iPad edition and the app, with its galleries and high-definition
videos, its exclusive offers and interactivity, is where the magazines strength
now lies.” With the expansion of online and tablet editions, magazines are
growing and doing better than ever.
A new business model for many magazines
is to combine their subscription packages to give people more option. According
to an article titled People Mag Prepares New
Subscription Model in Ad
week, the print industry is facing
financial pressure so publishers are now looking to broaden the definition of
subscribers to include other benefits. For example, Cosmopolitan magazine now
has the option to bundle together a subscription of both their tablet and print
editions. Over half of the respondents from Magazine
Media Readers and Smartphones admitted that they would be willing to pay a
fixed amount for total access to a magazines content across any device or platform,
including print copies.
Social media is a great platform
for magazines to get their publications out there. With the most recent release
of Snapchat Discover, users are now able to see short features from numerous
editorial teams, one being Cosmopolitan. According to the editors of Cosmopolitan, they will now upload a
daily Discover edition with five different articles lasting only 24 hours. This
addition to their publication has upped them tremendously adding in a larger
reach in audience. In a Forbes article about Snapchat’s new feature, Snapchat
Discover is the perfect platform to deliver creative work with each edition
including tons of new features everyday. People don’t always have time to pick
up the latest edition of Cosmo so this short new way of viewing is perfect.
I ask myself all the time if there is
a future left for print magazines in a world that’s entirely digitalized. Barbara
Rowlands said in her article The Fall and
Rise Of Magazines From Print To Digital, “Declining sales does not mean the
end for glossies. More platforms mean better ways of connecting people with
their passions.” Sales may be declining in print but there is a lot more
opportunity with new technological developments. People identify closely with
magazines that they read for many different reasons. There are lifestyle
magazines for everyone with different needs. Many people love the idea of
holding a physical hard copy since it allows them to do whatever they want with
it. Whether its ripping out pages and making collages or just placing it in a
waiting room for occupying time, magazines are timeless. A lot can be done with
a hard copy of a magazine that cannot be done with an online edition. Print
magazines may die out eventually, but there are new possibilities of a tablet
and online viewing that will change the way we view magazines forever.
Works Cited
Chowdhry,
Amit. "Snapchat's New 'Discover' Feature Has Content From ESPN, CNN, Food
Network And Others." Forbes. 28 Jan. 2015. Web.
Moses,
Lucia. "People Mag Prepares New Subscription Model." AdWeek.
30 Aug. 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
O'Malley,
Gavin. "Snapchat Valuation Pegged At $19B, Media Brands Invest In
Service." Media Post. 18 Feb. 2015. Web.
Rowlands,
Barbara. "The Fall and Rise of Magazines from Print to Digital." The
Guardian. 7 Mar. 2013. Web.
"2014
Magazine Media Factbook." MPA: The Association of Magazine
Media. 31 Jan. 2015. Web.
"The
Magazine Industry, Non-news Is Good New." The Economist. 9 June
2012. Web.
"Magazine
Media Readers & Smartphones." MPA: The Association of Magazine Media. Web.
"Magazine
Media Readers Are Social." MPA:
The Association of Magazine Media. Web.
I think Taylor brought up some really interesting points and I do think that print media is close to being dead in our society, however I agree that it isn’t there yet. There aren’t many people that you see on the street reading the newspaper or a magazine. We touched upon it in class last week that everyone is just on their phones more than anything. For example, if you are in a waiting room there are more people on their phones than reading the magazines that they provide. Waiting rooms also are probably some of the last places that even have Lifestyle magazine subscriptions.
ReplyDeleteTaylor also mentioned that, ‘magazines are more trusted, inspiring and influential than any other type of media’ according the 2014 Magazine Media Factbook. I do believe that to be true, and I’m sure there are a lot of people that would agree. If you were to site a source on some information, people would be less likely to trust you if you said you got it from social media. Lifestyle magazines are more reliable because it has been thought out and overlooked by multiple people, whereas a tweet is just sent out in seconds. Taylor also brought up the fact that magazines have committed readers. The readers and subscribers are going to continue to pay for this service and trust it because they have already been relying on that particular magazine thus far.
While different forms of media could be hurting the print industry, they are also improving the way we get our lifestyle information. In the article ‘Magazine Media Readers and Smartphones,’ it refers to smartphones as, “the next frontier for delivering magazine media content.” Social media once again has made the way we do every day activities more convenient and just all around easier to access. The article also states that, “60% of respondents have visited the magazine’s website as a result of reading digital magazine content on their smartphone. Women and those accessing through electronic newsstands are more likely to do so” (MPA: The Association of Magazine Media, pg. 3). There have been more and more applications on our phone, one of them being magazine subscription so rather than getting a print copy every month you can just read every article you chose on your phone.
Social media has also changed the way we receive our information because it is also used as an interactive platform. There are also multiple magazines that have social media accounts and that tweet out or Instagram articles or relevant topics that are also going to be in the magazine that month. There are also magazine editors that have thousands of followers, which also help the magazine they are working for reach broader audiences. Facebook also helps reach out to different audiences as well, in the article, ‘Magazine Media Readers are Social,’ it says, “49% of total respondents and 63% of avid magazine readers have visited a magazine’s Facebook page and 41% / 51% have ‘liked’ a magazine’s Facebook page”. (MPA: The Association of Magazine Media, pg. 6). The more a magazine interacts with its readers via social media, the more likely the follower is to be interested in their content and maybe even subscribe.
"Magazine Media Readers & Smartphones." MPA: The Association of Magazine Media. Report can be accessed on the MPA's website:www.magazine.org
Report compiled by MPA: The Association of Magazine Media. It was published on the organization's website and can be found at this address: magazine.org/socialresearch
Abigail Sisti
ReplyDeleteI agree that the print media is close to stopping but still will be around for another few years. People still enjoy the print of magazines but I feel they aren’t convenient. People want convenient and fast information. When you have your iPhone, smart phone or tablet you don’t need print magazines.
Information and updates can be updated every minute. I think that in our society today people want information fast. People are impatient to wait when they can just Google and find out what information they are looking for. I agree that social media is a great platform for magazine to use. I think that social media plays a major role in how we get our information. Personally I get my news and celebrity information from social media. I find it fascinating that now a days we can receive news in just 140 characters from twitter. “Consumers are increasingly engaging with magazine media content across the entire digital ecosystem; shifts among platforms are occurring within this expanded universe.”(associated of magazine media). I also agree that Snapchat discover is a great way for magazines to release fast information. I think that by them doing this it connects more people to their companies.
I believe that social media has changed the ways we get information. “Over one-third of the world’s population is on Facebook” (Lunden 2014).We use social media not just to interact anymore. I feel that social media is going to play a major role in the near future for magazines. Print magazines have to adjust the way they do things because time has changed. People don’t want print anymore. I feel print will stop in the next few years, the question I am wondering is how successful the company will be. To transform the print magazine to online the information will be basically updated 24 hours a day. I think that not only the magazines are going to change but advertisers will as well. If you look through a print magazines there are pages and page of advertisement. This is something that will definitely change once print is non-existent. I think that magazines have a lot to think about and have a lot to change so there company can stay relevant in our society today.
“2014 Magazine Media Factbook." MPA: The Association of Magazine Media. 31 Jan. 2015. Web.
Lunden, I. (2014, November 25). “Tumblr Overtakes Instagram As Fastest-Growing Social Platform, Snapchat Is The Fastest-Growing App.” Tech Crunch.