It's Tuesday: 5 Things About the World of Magazines and Media - Issue #20
The ghosts are here. It seems like we’re still in the middle of “unprecedented times” so, go ahead. Put on your costume, head out the door and get yourself and your team some well earned candy.
Honestly, how many of you really went out and played tricks on Halloween?
No, don’t answer that question.
So, audits are complete, budgets are in, media kits are out. The ad sales folk are in the air schlepping physical and digital space. Staff are pounding the keyboards lining up meetings and getting contracts out. Your production folk (presuming the C-Suite didn’t outsource them years ago) are under their desks quietly talking on their phones, trying to find transport, ink and paper. The digital staff is wondering how many more e-books and newsletters they'll have to crank out.
Will your Halloween bag be full of candy? Or rocks? What are you prepared for?
#1. Newspapers on the brink
Newspaper Industry On The Brink, Losing Ads, Coverage And Staff 10/18/2021 — www.mediapost.com Newspaper Industry On The Brink, Losing Ads, Coverage And Staff - 10/18/2021
This is ... horrifying. I may dislike the tone of the Chicago Tribune editorial page, I may think the Sun Times is a ghost of a shadow of a ghost of its former self. But we need local news - we certainly need more than the daily drumbeat of “If it bleeds, it leads” that we see on local TV news. Out in the suburbs, we desperately need someone to “police” the multiple layers of local governing bodies that have far more impact on our lives than the federal government ever will. Someone’s got to mind the store and neither Nextdoor nor Facebook are it.
#2 Are magazines the next variation of a vinyl record? Graydon Carter seems to think so.
Graydon Carter on the Future of Magazines and the Joy of Canoeing — www.wmagazine.com The legendary editor shares his thoughts on newsletters, restaurants, and what the French do better than the Americans.
For the moment, I’ve kept my subscription to Carter’s Air Mail Substack. But I haven’t decided if I have the same love/hate relationship with it like I do with Vanity Fair. On the other hand, as Carter was the founder of my all time favorite magazine that I never got to work for, Spy Magazine, I will always pay passing attention to what he says.
Are magazines headed for the same fate as vinyl records? The conventional wisdom suggests that may be the case and I'm not that inclined to dispute that opinion.
At this moment.
#3 Op-Ed from WaPo: Best selling Spanish female author turns out to be three men
Opinion | The Carmen Mola book episode reveals a sad truth about the publishing industry - The Washington Post — www.washingtonpost.com Women are successful authors in their own right and are not bound by the limits of literary genres and stereotypes.
The author of this piece, Maria Ramirez, makes several interesting points: While the stakes in this are not that high, public trust in publishers of both fiction and non-fiction are a valuable currency. There was no need for these men to engage in such fakery. Also: This is an industry where there are many female authors, editors, agents and executives. Consequently, it’s disheartening to find that so many of the key gatekeepers (who thought this was a good idea) are still men.
I’d add: A recent industry event showed me that while we are finally seeing women as regulars in the C-Suite and in places of importance in marketing and circulation; in too many instances, there are still too many men controlling most of the levers, locks and gates of admission.
It’s 2021. Can we please progress further on down the road? Now?
#4 The Reimagining Bookstores inaugural event
Shelf Awareness for Wednesday, October 20, 2021 | Shelf Awareness — www.shelf-awareness.com Welcome to the Web site for Shelf Awareness: Daily Enlightenment for the Book Trade, the free e-mail newsletter dedicated to helping the people in stores, ...
About Us – Reimagining Bookstores — reimaginingbookstores.org We are bookstore owners, leaders, booksellers, authors, publishers, and more. Above all, we are readers who care about our bookstores and communities. Our Mission Ensuring a bright future for bookstores and their community of stakeholders - employees, owners/ leaders, readers, writers, publishers, and partners. Our History Reimagining Bookstores was started by Praveen Madan, CEO of…
At Reimagining Bookstores, 'Provocations' Fuel Drive for Sustainable Bookselling — www.publishersweekly.com Reimagining Bookstores, a two-day online gathering of booksellers and publishing industry professionals, came to a close on October 19 with a clear mandate to continue building a movement to develop strategies that will lead to a more diverse, sustainable, and equitable bookselling trade in America.
If you're in the business and part of your job involves selling some ink on paper, you should be reading "Shelf Awareness." Since the last decade, the number of indy bookstores has grown exponentially. While they still may represent a small part of overall sales of print book, magazine, or comics sales (or heck, even coffee), ask yourself one question: "Can you afford to overlook even a small percentage of your overall sales?"
Well, can you?
And, check out how they have organized themselves and are working to better their industry. It's heartening. It's amazing. It's the future of small business. Get your head out of your spreadsheet and watch.
#5 Newsstand distribution industry wraps up virtual conference
MBR Conference Overview — news.ipda.org
Publishers meet one on one, discuss status of the newsstand, exchange ideas on how to move forward.
Believe it or not, the newsstand distribution industry still has a professional organization and they still meet. This year's meeting, like so many others, is virtual (We have one more day to go). Publishers gathered to talk with suppliers and retailers and each other. It's not perfect, it should be much bigger, it should be more comprehensive, but it's a start and it's heartening to see that people still want to communicate and gather.
And now, your moment of Magazine Zen...
And your moment of Magazine Agita...
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Got any questions or comments? Please drop me a line. You can always reach me at joe.berger at newsstandpros.com
That’s it! May the early part of your week be filled with quick internet connections and compliant, non-sentient personal printers!