The Magazine Industry Blog

How technology is changing the magazine industry

• Technological advancements in desktop design and printing has led to improved speed and quality. 

• Changes in technology may also mean more niche titles can survive and indeed flourish online.

• New technology has also improved distribution because publishers today know much more about their readers – who they are and where they buy.

• The NRS is developing new methods of measuring online readership to reflect changes in consumption. http://www.nrs.co.uk/future_nrs/measuring_websites

What impact might all this have on the magazine industry?

Nicholas Coleridge, Managing Director, Condé Nast said:

“People will have a hunger for information and I think they will look toward magazine-based websites […] in which they trust. But the internet can’t replace the printing values and the tactile values of a magazine.”

Do you agree?

Bill Murray, Managing Director of Haymarket Publishing, says that “Publishing needs to be redefined – publications can no longer define themselves by their masthead in print or online alone but, rather, need to be fluid brands moving across various media.”

What is he on about? If you can figure that out, then explain how his comment is related to NME. 

Magazines and newspapers are hoping that the growth in e-commerce will help them survive the current economic downturn and as a result, most publishers are significantly increasing their recruitment of staff with digital skills. Journalists now need to blog and make videos as well as simply write articles. Journalists need to become multi-skilled.

New media can build rather than threaten a magazine brand. Magazine editors spend most their time deciding what to leave out of their magazines. The web is able to offer almost limitless content and is about the user, not the editor. Magazine editors such as those at the music magazines: The Word and NME are making the most of online opportunities by using podcasts, creating tags between MySpace and Facebook sites back to their magazines and by constantly updating and personalising content to keep their reader communities engaged.

TEAM TASK

Imagine you are making a presentation at a publishing conference. Your topic is “What are the keys to success in the publishing industry.” Using your notes from this topic, create a PowerPoint or poster which you will present to the rest of the class.