Take me down to relaunch city...
Where the content's paywalled and the people are pretty...Issue #87
So what is a magazine, anyway? Is it only a collection of articles, stories, and pictures released in print format on a regular schedule? What about a digital replica? I think it was decided a long time ago that that is a magazine. But what about websites or blogs? They don’t look like a traditional magazine but they produce new articles on a regular schedule. So does that make them a magazine? What if they just say that they are a magazine? Should they get away with that?
And what about the TV Show 60 Minutes? It’s billed as an investigative TV newsmagazine. The same can be said for shows like Dateline on the ABC network. Are they, really? What about a podcast or even a podcast about magazines?
A living language evolves, and the meanings of words evolve with it over time. Even the word magazine did not originally mean something printed on paper. Go ahead and Google the word “magazine” and see the ratio of new articles about what I’m writing about here vs. articles about how many bullets fit into a “magazine.”
Below is a fascinating article about our friends at Playboy as they try their hand at a new version of a “magazine.” Will this plan work? Is it groundbreaking? Is it really a magazine? I don’t know. But I wish them well.
Guess what? Spring started yesterday! Is your weather cooperating? I sure hope so.
one__Playboy launches a sort of, kind of, maybe(ish) digital first “magazine”
CEO Kohn wants their creator platform to disrupt the current creator economy the same way Playboy magazine shook up the publishing industry. That’s a statement that can go in so many directions. Playboy Magazine did make it possible for magazines with adult content to enter the mainstream of the publics’ consciousness. But even with all of the literary content and interviews with important newsmakers, the publication was thought of as something “naughty” that was very cool and with it, but not necessarily respectable. After a brief period in some mainstream American retailers, Playboy and many other “adult” magazines were once again relegated to the back of the rack in convenience stores, to spinner racks in adult bookstores and the very top shelves of some tolerant bookstores and airport terminal newsstands.
Plus, this “magazine” is supposed to compete with OnlyFans, the online porn creator network? What’s being described here sounds a bit like OnlyFans, but with editors as gatekeepers. There’s nudity, but porn is not allowed. I get the goal, here, but is that groundbreaking? Will it really take on the giant porn platform and create something new? I guess we’ll find out.
two__Samir Husni asks (and answers) “Where have all the newsstands gone?”
Dr. Magazine (Samir Husni), the former head of the Department of Journalism at the University of Mississippi, is a true print aficionado who has one of the most extensive collections of the premiere issues of magazines.
In this article for Poynter, Husni outlines the evolution of the American newsstand from the well stocked and readily identifiable corner newsstands in major cities and the bulging checkouts in national supermarket chains, to the thinly stocked with “bookazines” checkout and mainline racks of today.
As someone who’s worked in this end of the business, the story isn’t new or surprising, but I highly recommend it if you’re not familiar with the what and how all this happened. If the only articles you ever read about the American newsstand is that “everyone went digital because, Amazon,” you’ll be in for a surprise as Samir uncovers the story from many angles.
The story of the newsstand is so much more detailed and nuanced than what is usually reported, and I thank Samir for ably covering it.
three__Meanwhile, in the war on reading…
I grew up around books, newspapers and magazines. My childhood home was stacked high with books and magazines on every surface because my father was a magazine, book and newspaper wholesaler, and my mother was a school teacher.
So all of the book banning that seems to be going on these days, especially in the state of Florida, fills me with a sense of dread. There is nothing better to expand your horizons and stimulate your imagination than sitting down and getting immersed in a book. Any book. Print, digital, even audio. Taking them away from people in the name of “decency” makes no sense to me.
To learn that this Florida school district started to ban books by Jodi Picoult? For me, that is a true WTF moment.
Take a moment, read both articles and then go and read the Scribd list of books that have been “removed.”
I’m very sorry if I ruined your day.
four__A look back. What can 1970’s Apartment Life Magazine teach us about today?
I absolutely loved this article by the New York Times. It was pretty neat to see how much things have changed since those long ago days. And yet, so much still seems familiar and current.
Bonus points: Did you know that Metropolitan Home magazine was the successor to Apartment Life?
five__Graydon Carter’s Air Mail creates new digital vertical, considers a print product
You have to read pretty far down into the article to find a reference to the plans for a print product. Essentially what it sounds like is some sort of SIP. That makes a lot sense when considering the market today along with the content that Air Mail covers.
The Air Mail site and newsletter service is remarkably good at what they do, so I’ll be very interested to see what they come up with when they do launch a print product.
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I hope you have a really great week. May it not be too long, may your meetings be short, your in-box not too full, and your dancing Slack bananas bringing you much joy! I mean, what else is Slack really for?
