It's Tuesday: 5 Things About the World of Magazines & Media - Issue #29
Whoa! It's 2022. How in the world did we get here?
Sometimes it feels like it's still 2019, and then I look at a calendar and realize I am so far off - well, it's just not that funny.
So, will this new year yield brand new beginnings? Is it a chance to get things right? Is everything old new again? Will we find a safe haven? A safe harbor?
Or will the new boss be the same as the old boss?
I just don't know anymore.
So snap out of it. Back to work! We got stuff to publish! Let's circle back, round up the troops, resurface that reminder...what's in the news?
#1. Always worth a read: Scott Galloway's 2021 Prediction Results and Predictions for 2022
2022 Predictions | No Mercy / No Malice — www.profgalloway.com “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower Making predictions is a shitty business. The events leading up to the realization of any prediction make it seem less extraordinary. And when you get it wrong, you’re an insufferable numbskull. The value of a prediction is in the act of making it, not […]
Yes, he can seem a bit arrogant. However, Galloway is an excellent source of information about the world of 21st century late-stage capitalism.
He continues to impress me with his call outs of major business leaders to take more responsibility for the world they operate in.
There's also this quote: "The value of a prediction is in the act of making it, not the prediction itself. Contemplating what may happen encourages us to take responsibility for decisions we make in the present."
Read the article, you'll see what I mean.
#2. New print magazine launches more than doubled in 2021
Magazine analyst: New print-magazine launches more than doubled in 2021 | Editor and Publisher — www.editorandpublisher.com There were 122 new print-magazine launches in 2021, representing a sharp rebound from the 60 that launched last year, and offering hope that print media has a strong — though admittedly more …
Magazine Analyst: New Print-Magazine Launches More Than Doubled In 2021 12/30/2021 — www.mediapost.com Magazine Analyst: New Print-Magazine Launches More Than Doubled In 2021 - 12/30/2021
No, don't expect that we're back to turn of the century launch numbers. For one thing, there's this surge of "book-a-zines" or "SIPs" that has replaced a lot of regular frequency titles on the print newsstand.
However, it is good to see things picking back up and I personally can announce that I did a few "new title" launches last year.
I also kind of appreciate the way that Samir counts new publications: If it doesn't show up on the newsstand or he doesn't see a physical copy...
#3. Look, I just think you should read Ann Friedman's retrospective of 2021...
Our collective 2021 — mailchi.mp
The Ann Friedman Weekly
I just thought it was a really beautiful piece of writing that I really enjoyed receiving on the last Friday of last year. It kind of moved me.
Like, subscribe, become a paying member if you can. Her pie charts will make you laugh.
#4. Pandemic Publishing Roundtable: Interview with Dominic Young of Axate.com
The Easiest Way for a Publisher to Make Money Online — myemail.constantcontact.com The Publisher’s Pandemic Roundtable Meets with Dominic Young Courtesy of BoSacks & The Precision Media Group America's Oldest e-newsletter est.1993 www.bosacks.com Join Our Mailing List All I ask is
Sometime around the end of March, I will celebrate two years of being a founding member of the "Pandemic Publisher's Roundtable".
We put the group together initially for one purpose - to combat a remarkably inaccurate article about magazines in Barnes & Noble, and kept it going because there was this pandemic going on and we all felt it was a good way to stay connected to the world.
Two years later, we're still trying to stay connected and we're learning new stuff and meeting interesting people.
#5. Bob Hoffman: "Interactivity: Advertising's Hidden Enemy"
Interactivity: Advertising's Hidden Enemy — www.linkedin.com The advertising and marketing industries had a dream. The dream was that interactive media would revolutionize advertising and make it far more engaging, relevant, and effective.
Yeah, pretty much.
Possibly the most trenchant line in this whole screed from the legendary advertising truth teller is this: “What marketers seem unable to comprehend is that, at best, advertising is a minor annoyance. It is pretty clear that most people are willing to go to substantial lengths to avoid it.”
I suppose that is true. It’s why I have access to Netflix and HBO. It’s why I record network and cable shows and skip past the ads. It’s why much of what I listen to in the car these days is my own music. It’s why I skip past the menu box and wellness ads on my podcasts.
However, I do often look at magazine ads.
And while I’ll skip past and curse at all of the pop up ads on my digital “newspaper” (Thanks Alden Global Capital!), I do look at them in my printed Sunday paper.
Hmmmm.
Your moment of Magazine Zen is brought to you by...
...This showed up this past weekend. 132 pages of sheer magazine awesomeness.
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That’s it! That’s all we’ve got so get back at it! May your new year be light on circle backs, resurfaced initiatives, re-connects (except for the fun types), and may your Zoom always show you from the best possible angle!