It's Tuesday: Do We Really Want A New (Media) Platform - Issue #70
Do we really want that new platform?
Well, that is something I’m thinking about. Do I remain on Twitter and use this Revue platform for the newsletter? Or do I migrate somewhere else? For the most part, I try to stay away from the platform's political sideshow and focus on authors, writers, bookstores and the like. But if the people and institutions I follow go somewhere, should I go with them?
Would I prefer that Twitter be less politically charged and fulfill its early promise of microblogging? Well, that sounds nice, but that’s not how things work.
This whole thing reminds me of a scene that is played out so many times in TV dramas, movies and books. A couple is engaged in a fight. What is it that one of them wants? For things to go back to the way they were. But despite the best science fiction storylines, time as we know it is linear. You can’t go backwards, only forwards.
But we’re also a confusing species. We want things to stay the same. But we also want new things, new experiences.
It’s the same in the corporate world. Even though a company may be profitable, the managers point to a time when it was more profitable. May G*d help the employees who don’t sacrifice enough to get them back to those times.
I may not want to admit it, but it's the same for me sometimes. I'm thrilled by all of the new technology, the multiple channels my magazine clients can access. I'm trying hard to keep up with it all. But, yes, I miss the glory days of Midtown Manhattan. The days when one of the intersections near my house hosted three national bookstore chains on three of the four corners.
We all want new. We all want more. And in this time when there is so much that is new, so much that is so much more than any other time in history, we’re miserable with choices and we want things to go back to that misty forever time.
1___Would a Twitter exodus mean the end of some online magazines?
A Twitter Exodus Could Mean the End of Some Online Magazines — jezebel.com “The death of Twitter would decimate the science fiction and fantasy short story ecosystem,” said Uncanny Magazine co-publisher Michael Damian Thomas.
Yeah, I know. There’s no print component so are they magazines**? As a person who’s been a reasonably successful independent consultant for years, I understand the allure of having a lot of your income coming from one easy to manage bucket. The other side of the coin, of course, is if that bucket suddenly gets a big hole in it...
This Jezebel story points out the precarious position the online sci-fi magazine Uncanny finds itself in.
**Joe says: Sure, go ahead and use the word magazine if it makes you happy.
2___Consumers (Readers) are breaching the paywalls
Consumers Seek To Bypass Paywalls On Publishing Sites: Study 11/02/2022 — www.mediapost.com Consumers Seek To Bypass Paywalls On Publishing Sites: Study - 11/02/2022
Well, yeah. How is any of this surprising? You want news. You’re already paying an ISP to get online. You may also be paying a streaming service or two for some “entertainment.” But you also want news. The local print paper is expensive. Or dead. The local TV news is all about people getting shot and the price of gas. You want news.
So you’re going to do whatever you can to breach that paywall.
3___Interview with TMB's CEO, Bonnie Kintzer
Trusted Media Brands CEO Bonnie Kintzer To Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni: “We’re Focusing On Where The Audiences Are.” — mrmagazine.wordpress.com
“We are definitely a different company from the one you knew in the past. We’re a digital and video forward company in all that we do.
I admit that I'm sad to learn that TMB is eliminating some of its smaller niche publications. It’s also jarring to hear an executive say that there “will be no such thing as a magazine company.” However, I have to admit that the phrase 'magazine media' makes a lot of sense for a company like TMB.
In the coming year, what should leaders of magazine media companies do?
Two things:
First, follow the example of CEO Kintzer. Figure out what works best, make a plan and execute it. In other words, move forward.
Second, it’s not that you shouldn’t look back, it’s that you shouldn’t try to go back. You can never go back. Cherish, if that’s the right word, what you enjoyed in the past.
But you’re not going back.
4___The Ring Magazine goes all in on digital
Press release: The Ring Magazine Embraces Digital Future, Launching Monthly Electronic Edition - The Ring — www.ringtv.com
LOS ANGELES, CA (Nov. 2, 2022) – Having recently surpassed 100 years in print, Ring Magazine will launch its next 100 years as a monthly electronic magazine, leaders of the “Bible of Boxing”
We may see a lot more of this in 2023. For some magazine publishers, both niche and mainstream, B2B and B2C, a print component is just not going to work anymore. There are other things they can do with the resources they’re spending on printers, paper, ink, postage and transportation. So they’re going to stop printing.
What? You had big dreams of starting your own magazine and you didn't realize that that’s what’s involved in making a print magazine? Well, now you know!
Does that mean The Ring is no longer a magazine? Some would say so. Me? I got other fish to fry.
5___Indie magazines that creatives will enjoy in 2023
12 independent magazines for creatives to enjoy in 2023 | Creative Boom — www.creativeboom.com Ditch your phone and pick up a beautiful printed magazine instead! We've got 12 deliciously different, independently published magazines for you to en...
So let's follow up the demise of the print edition of The Ring with this list. Pro tip: There are ten magazines I now need to try to find and get my hands on.
Here are twelve niche publishers who, for the moment, are continuing to release print as part of their identity as a magazine.
Some of the names of these publications are incredible: Pressing Matters, Backstage Talks , and the one I really want to find just for the name: Disco Pogo. In case you were wondering, the latter is a biannual electronic music magazine.
PS: I love the font for their logo.
Your moment of Magazine zen...
That’s all I have for you this week. I hope you enjoyed this newsletter, and if you did, please give it a boost by clicking “Like” and then subscribe. You’ll get a brand new release in your email in-box every Tuesday. Sometimes I even have some “bonus” content for you.
If you’ve got a question or comment, please drop me a line. You can always reach me at joe.berger@newsstandpros.com.
Want to follow me on Twitter? You can still find me here. For the moment.
My Instagram link is here.
Want to feel all professional and see what I look like with a suit and tie? Here’s my LinkedIn.
Hey, today is Election Day. Did you vote? I hope so. Also, Thanksgiving is only sixteen days away. Start getting the ingredients together for your stuffing. You know that's the best part of the meal.
I hope you have a great rest of the week.