Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The ultimate capitulation of newspapers to the unquestionably superior magazine form
Trust Dave Eggers to do something different.
The Heartbreaking Genius has transformed his cultural magazine McSweeney's into a broadsheet format for a special San Francisco edition.
You can read all about it in the Nieman Labs blog
The Heartbreaking Genius has transformed his cultural magazine McSweeney's into a broadsheet format for a special San Francisco edition.
You can read all about it in the Nieman Labs blog
Dave Eggers: Image via Wikipedia
Labels: magazine craft, magazines, newspaper magazines
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Newspapers – the new magazines
Simon Jenkins has been on a run of good form with his recent Guardian columns (ie I agree with him) and today's is an interesting addition.
His thesis is, basically, that newspapers
Felix Dennis managed to parlay Maxim into just about everything, including the gambling industry (as reported in USA Today), before the bottom started falling out of ladmags; many magazine brands have their own shows and exhibitions (consumer titles as well as B2B) and most of those generate healthy profits. Online sites offer numerous opportunities for commercial tie-ins.
If Jenkins's idea is taken up, what lies ahead? The Daily Me with added festivals? Or a daily news magazine that supports the brand in the physical print world while the real business shifts to the National Exhibition Centre and assorted giant marquees around the country?
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His thesis is, basically, that newspapers
should be staging everything from commercial fairs to sporting events and arts and book festivals. There is money in all of them. Newspapers should not be investing in fancy printing presses but in the "long-tail" economics of live enterprise, with the printed word as a mere core activity.That is, they should look to brand extension for new revenue streams. He takes as his model the music industry but surely, surely, this kind of brand extension is exactly what magazines have been doing for the last, what, 10, 15, 20 years?
Felix Dennis managed to parlay Maxim into just about everything, including the gambling industry (as reported in USA Today), before the bottom started falling out of ladmags; many magazine brands have their own shows and exhibitions (consumer titles as well as B2B) and most of those generate healthy profits. Online sites offer numerous opportunities for commercial tie-ins.
If Jenkins's idea is taken up, what lies ahead? The Daily Me with added festivals? Or a daily news magazine that supports the brand in the physical print world while the real business shifts to the National Exhibition Centre and assorted giant marquees around the country?
Labels: Free, magazines, newspaper magazines, newspapers
Thursday, August 06, 2009
More Observer magazine news
My thanks to Alex Burrows for bringing my attention to the news that Nicola Jeal, who has headed up the Observer's magnificent magazine section (Food, Woman, Sport, Music and the eponymous Magazine magazine), is leaving Kings Place and joining the Times as weekend editor.
Adopting a Kremlinologistic analysis, this development combines with the mooted changes to the Observer (see previous post) to suggest that its life as a newspaper is drawing to a close. Or at the very least, it will only be a shadow of its former, multi-sectioned, multi-magazined self.
Nicola Jeal has won BSME awards twice and edited Elle, among many other magazine jobs.
Let's hope that her new role allows her to bring the Times Saturday magazine back to its former glory.
Adopting a Kremlinologistic analysis, this development combines with the mooted changes to the Observer (see previous post) to suggest that its life as a newspaper is drawing to a close. Or at the very least, it will only be a shadow of its former, multi-sectioned, multi-magazined self.
Nicola Jeal has won BSME awards twice and edited Elle, among many other magazine jobs.
Let's hope that her new role allows her to bring the Times Saturday magazine back to its former glory.
Labels: BSME, magazines, newspaper magazines
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Goodbye Observer newspaper, hello Observer magazine?
A report in the Sunday Times suggests that the Scott Trust, ultimate owners of the Guardian and Observer newspapers among other assets, has been shown a dummy of the Observer in magazine form. Publication day for the proposed news magazine would be Thursday.
The immediate conclusion to jump to is that the new title might be a UK version of Time or Newsweek, but it is worth remembering that the Spectator has been doing well recently while the New Statesman seems unable to manoeuvre its way out of an unstoppable tailspin. This might leave room for a current affairs magazine of the left, which would fit with the Guardian/Observer political axis.
Alternatively, The Week provides a model that could make good use of the Guardian group's news resources – if they could hire people with the necessary rewrite skills.
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The immediate conclusion to jump to is that the new title might be a UK version of Time or Newsweek, but it is worth remembering that the Spectator has been doing well recently while the New Statesman seems unable to manoeuvre its way out of an unstoppable tailspin. This might leave room for a current affairs magazine of the left, which would fit with the Guardian/Observer political axis.
Alternatively, The Week provides a model that could make good use of the Guardian group's news resources – if they could hire people with the necessary rewrite skills.
Labels: news magazine, newspaper magazines, weekly magazine
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
News International's magazine division closes
Well, that didn't last very long, did it? Ever since the magazine branch of News International suddenly drew its horns in after the launch of LOVE IT, the writing has been on the wall. Now it's off the wall and into the Guardian's media section (and elsewhere).
Of course, Mr Murdoch is far from the first newspaper person to think that magazines represent an easy pot of gold – one thinks of Eve Pollard and Aura magazine, Kelvin MacKenzie and Highbury House, for example – and he won't be the last.
The media are converging, no question about that, but there are still specific skills and perhaps a particular culture, required by each platform.
Of course, Mr Murdoch is far from the first newspaper person to think that magazines represent an easy pot of gold – one thinks of Eve Pollard and Aura magazine, Kelvin MacKenzie and Highbury House, for example – and he won't be the last.
The media are converging, no question about that, but there are still specific skills and perhaps a particular culture, required by each platform.
Labels: eve pollard, kelvin mackenzie, news international, newspaper magazines, print magazines, specialised
