I see my opinions mirrored here and in many of the replies. Two biggest difficulties are cost and the internet. Although the problems that some talk about began before the general economy started diving, the costs for paper and distribution have been hurting all publications for quite a while now.
As far as internet competition, the key should be to do what the internet can't. I agree with those who say they like the feel and portability of a magazine. I haven't learned to curl up with a good laptop yet.
One thing Rod mentioned was the confession (one we all should make) that he read the magazines for the ads as much as the articles - sort of the centerfold effect, all that gear porn. The ads have gotten smaller and don't generate quite the visceral drooling as they once did. Some of the thickest magazines out there are the glamour and home magazines which are filled to distraction with ads. Have you ever looked in a Vogue magazine? There is no content. It is all ads. They would get in the way if you were looking for content, but that is because my attention is not drawn to lipstick or vacuum cleaner ads. But if they were giant pages of telescopes and eyepieces - that would be different. I just love those juicy Televue ads. Not many companies can afford giant ads, but what if the price of ads went down? Down enough to generate more of them. Would the lower price of ads, but more pages of them, generate the revenue to pay for themselves paper and ink wise? Just asking, because I would love to see what kind of design and layout and presentation some of our smaller companies could generate if they had the space to do so. That way the ads, rather than just a way to finance the magazine could be seen as an attraction. My students always told me the ads in their glamor mags were the main reason they bought them.
2cents.
-------------------- Jim in Texas
NS11GPS (Celeste)
C6S-GT (Celia)
SV 85S (Stella)
SV66 (Red)
Pentax Binoculars (the Twins)
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Re: The Trouble with the Magazines
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