A look at the world of magazine media - Issue #8
Let's give a big "How's it going?" to all of those circulation folks out there prepping audited circulation reports for the first half of 2021. How are things going with AAM or BPA or whoever you upload to? What do the numbers look like? Compared to last year? To 2019?
For those of you not in the know: AAM is the Alliance for Audited Media and BPA is BPA Worldwide. These are auditing houses that reassure advertisers that their client magazines are reporting accurate numbers.
Note that most consumer and business magazines do not audit their circulation. It's not because the publishers are thieves (Yeah, admit it, that's what you were thinking). It's because the advertisers don't require it.
It should also be noted that from experience, the folks who work at these companies (AAM & BPA) are incredibly dedicated and really good to work with.
So what's new this week? Let's take a look.
#1. From NBC News: What does the future hold for The Atlantic now that Trump is gone and the pandemic may be ending?
The Atlantic thrived through Trump and the pandemic. The future is harder. — www.nbcnews.com The Atlantic's challenges cast a shadow over what had been an otherwise sunny media story about a recent digital success.
This is a thoughtful piece from veteran media reporter Dylan Byers about the struggles The Atlantic is having between continuing to provide well reported news, living under the ownership of a wealthy patron, and finding a way towards profitability. He also points to something a lot of us who work in circulation know, that just having a lot of subscribers, who pay a reasonable fee for that circulation is not necessarily the key to profitability.
There is so much more to magazine publishing.
#2. Nieman Lab: "White audiences who will pay" is still metro newspapers' survival strategy
“White audiences who will pay” is still metro newspapers’ survival strategy » Nieman Journalism Lab — www.niemanlab.org “We don’t write for white subscribers, but it ends up being white people who read us," a Midwestern news executive told an audience earlier this year.
University of Illinois professor, Nikki Usher offers an op-ed in Neiman Lab pointing out that most big city newsrooms are still overwhelmingly helmed by white people and that their business strategies focus on wealthy white urbanites and suburbanites.
A little digging turned up that the piece online is from a book she wrote: "News for the Rich, White, and Blue. How Place and Power Distort American Journalism". So now I have something else to read this summer. Pro Tip: That is a problem you want as a reader.
The op-ed did a great job of laying out a problem that is apparent to any casual observer of the press. The problem is then summed it up in the final paragraph with the warning that they should do better.
But as with the sticky problems of circulation in magazine publishing that are so often pointed out to those of us who work in the field, does she offer a solution? I'm hoping that the book will offer some concrete solutions we can put into action.
#3. Will "Pivot to Newsletters" work if your newsletter is crap? Journalist Adam Tinworth cites "Four Things" that make a good newsletter
The four things that define a good newsletter — onemanandhisblog.com So maybe you'll get over-excited readers, like the ones above.
According to many of the industry articles I've seen recently, the "pivot" to newsletters is supposed to be driving our buggies and enhancing our revenue.
OK. Sure. But I just completed my pivot to video!
Read the article. He may be from the UK, but Mr. Tinworth is now a follow on Twitter for me and in my "Publishing Industry" list.
#4. The eternal question: Why buy print in a digital world?
What makes a reader buy a print copy in the digital era? — www.oneworldnews.com What makes a reader buy a print copy in the digital era. Here are a few reasons why digital reading cannot compete with the pleasure of reading a book, magazine or newspaper
The question's been around since the dawn of the tablet era: Which experience is better? The answer is, and has been: "Depends on what you're looking for."
#5. In other words, "I'm gonna leave the pitching for subscribers and readers to the pros." NY Mag Art Critic turns down $250K Substack offer.
A $250,000 Substack salary wasn't enough to lure a Pulitzer-winning art critic from his staff writing job. He said he can't stand the idea of constantly 'barking' for subscribers. — www.businessinsider.com New York Magazine art critic Jerry Saltz declined a $250,000 Substack newsletter deal, saying, "It is not my real work to write for 'subscribers.'"
I get it. How often have I heard from publishers who just can't understand why the perfectly white (or black or blue or light mauve) cover with the perfectly placed portrait didn't sell out? It must have been something I did. Or the wholesaler stole all the copies. Or all 5,000 retailers hid the copies in the back row.
Or something.
And now, for your moment of Magazine Zen, followed by your moment of Magazine Agita...
