It's Tuesday: 5 Things About the World of Magazines & Media - Issue #42
On the one hand, it seems odd that the job of being a writer, a very white collar job to be sure, is unionizing in newsrooms, magazine offices and digital media companies around the country. After all, aren't unions supposed to be those blue collar, feather nesting, corporate choking, corrupt organizations that keep our industries from innovating?
Well, no. Not always or even often. But that is the story that's been out in the popular media for quite some time and as news consumers, many of us seem to have accepted it.
Over the past twenty years, media corporations have been bought and sold. Merged, conglomerated, larded up with debt and spun off to spectacularly crash and burn. Employees have been shedded and benefits have been shredded. Digital startups have been treated like high sugared cereals until the angel investors have have eaten enough and then crashed to earth to the delight of the bored fan boys on Twitter.
So if you're a journalist and have experienced all of that, maybe you've had enough. Maybe you've decided that you want someone in your corner who's got your back.
This week's news isn't all that "newsy" but it follows a trend I've been watching with great interest. Journalists want a seat at the table. Good. Freelancers want to be treated with respect. Good. Investors want to see some returns and some actual business plans that make sense. Good.
Speaking of fan boys on Twitter: Elon Musk teased us by trying to make us think he could make Twitter better. What a waste of time in news gathering and opinion making. If you want to make Twitter better, the solution is very simple. Ignore political Twitter. And while Tesla, Space X and Grimes are kinda cool, we can ignore Elon.
1___Conde Nast Employees Form A Union
Vogue, Bon Appétit and other Condé Nast staffers form union - The Washington Post — www.washingtonpost.com "It comes down to prestige doesn’t pay the bills," said one Vanity Fair staffer.
I thought this quote from the article was rather telling. It also makes me hope that the next Rom-Com that sports a hero or heroine who works at a mythical New York magazine company takes it to heart:
“The very public campaign helped underscore a message that aggrieved employees have been trying to get across: that the stereotype of the well-paid fashion magazine staffer who moves around Manhattan in a Town Car is a mirage, a thing of the past.”
Condé Nast employees form company-wide union covering 500+ workers, call for voluntary recognition | The NewsGuild - TNG-CWA — newsguild.org Union represents editorial, video, and production workers across all Condé Nast’s brands that haven’t already unionized, including Vogue, Bon Appétit, Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, and GQ
I thought this was rather telling:
“Workers lack job security and have very little say in the company’s structure and goals. Many live in fear of losing jobs to arbitrary layoffs or having full-time positions be outsourced to contract workers. Many have worked for years as subcontracted employees, without health insurance and other basic benefits, even though they do the same jobs as full-time staff.”
2___Tony Silber: "Remember Who Unionization is Not Reaching"
Journalism Unionization: Welcome Trend, But Remember Who It's Not Reaching 04/01/2022 — www.mediapost.com Journalism Unionization: Welcome Trend, But Remember Who It's Not Reaching - 04/01/2022
A few weeks ago, this newsletter tried to focus in on freelancing and point out that while this may be a great time for freelancers and gig workers, there's a lot of challenges out there.
I really appreciate this post from Tony who is reminding us to remember the freelancers who work in media.
3___Peter Houston Finds Some Silver Linings
2021 in print: Newspapers' decline continues, but for magazines ... it’s complicated | What’s New in Publishing | Digital Publishing News — whatsnewinpublishing.com While most people have lost the habit of buying a daily newspaper, preferring the immediacy of digital news, sales in the lean-back magazine market have been holding up…mostly. Peter Houston looks at the year in print as part of our Media Moments 2021 report. Listening to people talk about the print publishing market is a bit like …
Essentially, we're seeing hard facts that people now prefer digital media over print media. There's really no denying that and it's something I see personally on a daily basis as I work through client circulation numbers.
In the world of magazines, the silver lining Peter is pointing to is the interesting growth in: "The one area print publications seem to be thriving is where quirk, character and community are valued over immediacy."
4___This Showed Up in my Instagram Timeline and It's So Cheap The Price Will Positively Blow.Your.Mind!
Too tired to rant, so I'll leave you with a brief moment of snark:
Really?
As a rule, I try hard to avoid the performative outrage we see so often in today's hyper charged hyperbolic media. After all, who the heck am I to criticize someone else's circulation marketing strategy when I don't have the same kind of facts sitting in front of me that they did when they made the decision to price a subscription this low?
But you are literally giving this away for free. And this is Condé Nast.
Considering the cost of paper, binding, ink, shipping and postage, I can't imagine how they ever break even on a deal like this. And Condé Nast was offering deals like this prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic!
What sort of renewal rate are they getting? Are they getting high quality subscribers who engage beyond the print product?
Look, I hope like heck this works and has always worked. I hope the folk who came up with this campaign have success and are called up to the conference room on the 94th floor (or whatever floor) and are given awards for service to the company.
Anyway...
5___MagLiteracy.org Continues to Grow
Funds needed now to get mags to readers — mailchi.mp Our mission to promote literacy to end poverty is made possible by special groups of stakeholders. Our work is defined by needs presented by Literacy Programs. Currently, Volunteers - leaders and team members in Wisconsin, Ohio, Mississippi, Toronto, and other US and overseas locations, do all our heavy lifting - collecting, sorting, packing, and delivering magazines to literacy programs. All our literacy work today is done standing on the shoulders of so many who have supported our vision over many years.
I first came across the good people from MagLiteracy at an ACT Conference at Ole Miss a few years ago. During the first year of the Pandemic, the Pandemic Publishing Roundtable was privileged to interview John Mennell, the founder of the program.
Their mission is simple, get recycled magazines that did not sell on the newsstand into the hands of people who ordinarily would not be able to purchase one from the newsstand. The idea is that access to reading material will promote literacy and literacy can help lift people out of poverty.
To learn more about their very important mission, click here.
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Did you know that back in the day, people actually wore suits and ties Monday through Fridays? You’ll find me in a suit and tie here on my LinkedIn.
OK, enough scrolling the links. Time to get to work. Or at least, look busy. You never know when the good folk at HR will turn on that that ActivTrak software to see what you’re up to. Go get it done!