Five Questions With Nikki Simpson
...but first, it's the boys in shorts: Year 2
It is January in Chicago and that means that it’s cold. It might be snowing (It is while I’m writing this). If it’s not snowing, it’s probably sleeting. If it’s not sleeting, it is the coldest, nastiest, wettest rain you have ever encountered, and if you’re out in that for some incomprehensible reason, you’ll most likely wish you were anywhere else. Even if that anywhere else is the latest HR mandatory seminar on the most recent changes to the health insurance program.
Out here on the prairie by the lake, we pride ourselves on our ability to both simultaneously complain about the miserableness of the weather and at the same time our mutual ability to toughen it out. Most of us do that by piling on the coats, hats, scarves, boots, leggings, long johns, wool socks and something, anything to cover the hands and keep them warm.
And yet, yesterday I had my first sighting of a boy in shorts. I know it’s not a Chicago only thing. But it sure is jarring when you first see one. A lad who wears shorts 24/7/365. Even when the temps drop below freezing.
A year ago I first posted about this unusually brave subset of humanity and this week, on the anniversary, I thought I’d bring it all back up for your consideration.
Five Questions With…
Once a month I’ll be introducing someone from the magazine world to you and I’ll ask them five questions about their history, their work, and where they see magazine media going. The goal is to get to know a little more about some of the people who make this broad and vital industry tick.
In the summer of 2021, the “Pandemic Publishing Roundtable”, a bi-weekly discussion group that started meeting during the depths of the pandemic, hosted Nikki Simpson, the founder of the Edinburgh, Scotland based International Magazine Centre. I found the meeting incredibly fascinating and it inspired me to become a member. We were in the process of witnessing the slow devolution of US based magazine media associations and the existence of this new organization seemed brave and timely.
What is the International Magazine Center? In Nikki’s own words: “It is is a membership organization helping small businesses working in and around magazine publishing, through events, training, mentoring and connections. Our aim is to help our community of small businesses, encouraging people to share, collaborate and support each other.
Long term, we're working towards opening the International Magazine Centre in Edinburgh – a physical building dedicated to all things magazine, with office and incubator space, events and exhibitions, magazine shop and cafe. We celebrate the magazine publishing industry – all kinds of titles, from all over the world, and with every business model imaginable. We also reach out to readers too, introducing them to titles they never knew they would love.”
Here are the five questions and answers from our conversation:
Question #1: When and how did you begin working in magazine media? Did you have any specific training that prepared you for your first or current job?
Nikki: “I started working in media at the Scottish Print Employers Federation, SPEF for short, and then moved to the content marketing company White Light Media as their business manager, staying for five years until the role came up at PPA Scotland, a trade association for magazine publishers in the UK, where I spent another 4 years until I had my wee boy. We published a lot of magazines at White Light, including our own consumer title Hot Rum Cow, so that’s where I fell in love with magazines and was shown the beauty of great design. No official training! Just an immersion in magazines both there and at PPA.”
Question #2: What do you see trending in the industry and do you foresee much change in the next decade?
Nikki: “I work with small publishers specifically at the International Magazine Centre, who are agile but often short on resources, so sometimes things move differently to the average newsstand title. I’m seeing a lot more confidence from my member publishers in their tech – podcasting and video are second nature to many now, and I’ve seen a lot of highly successful, global, online events. There seems to be a general feeling of forgiveness and testing going on – people forgiving themselves if something doesn’t work out, and trying new things all the time to see what fits with their audience. Nobody is resting on their laurels. As for what it’ll look like in ten years, I’m certain it’ll be very different – publishers are great at evolving and diversifying and the Internet loves to throw a curve ball every six months or so.”
Question #3: Do print magazines have much of a future in the next ten to twenty years and why do you think so?
Nikki: “Yes, for so many reasons. Tactility, longevity, curation, and an antidote to the Internet are always the most resounding, but there’s many more. Magazines are a treat, magazines say something about who you are, magazines retain the reader for longer, magazines display advertising better and longer, magazines feel relaxing where a mobile can often feel active or attention sucking. The joy of your subscription landing on the doormat. The accessibility for kids who might feel daunted by books. The joy of an archive, even if it’s only a week or two old. The smell of the print on the paper. The wonderful ways you can use print. Curation’s the biggest one for me – there’s a real feeling of wonder when you realize you are the target audience for the editor, it feels like they’ve created the magazine just for you.”
Question #4: If you couldn’t work with magazines, what would you want to do?
Nikki: I’m a community manager rather than a magazine publisher, so I imagine I’d work in another community role, maybe something gardening related? I’d miss magazines terribly though – they’re part of who I am now.”
Question #5: What was the best advice you ever got from someone in the magazine business?
Nikki: “I first thought of the idea of the International Magazine Centre back in 2014, around the time of the Scottish independence referendum, when many eyes were on Scotland. We'd just had our most successful PPA Scotland conference and there was a buzz in the air about what was happening politically and in magazine publishing.
A few weeks later I was in London for the MagCulture conference and was talking to Peter Houston, then acquaintance, now dear friend. I told him about the idea and he said 'Start telling everyone because once it’s out you’ll have to do it.' So I did.
That's great advice for any idea - tell people, then they'll hold you to account. I hear a lot of people sitting on ideas because they're afraid that if they let it slip then someone else will do it before them. They want it to be perfect before it's released. But you'll never be ready that way - tell people, don't let good be the enemy of perfect, and then just do it. Although I think Nike came up with that last one.”
You can learn more about the International Magazine Centre by visiting their website. I highly endorse becoming a patron of the organization. Their online training offerings are first rate and they also offer in person training and mentoring; something very important in today’s market. Another feature is the annual in person meeting. They have equally bold plans to open a physical operation in Edinburgh, Scotland one day.
I think it would be great if we could expand the number of US based publications and suppliers and help this vital organization to grow.
Your Moment of Magazine Zen…
A very happy birthday to Ms. Magazine as it celebrates birthday number 50!
So? How’s the new year treating you this far? Is the new boss like the old boss? Or something different?
I hope you enjoyed the first outing of “Five Questions With”. Look for it next on Tuesday, February 14th. Is there someone you’d like to see me start a conversation with? Drop me a line.
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And now, before we get serious with the morning email dump, let’s check in with our favorite stressed out magazine media team as they gather for their very first in-person meeting of 2023…
If you’ve got a question or comment, please drop me a line. You can always reach me at joe.berger@newsstandpros.com.
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Go and have a good week. May your meetings be short. May your in box be full of worthwhile info. May your break room not smell like microwaved salmon.