Essay Plan revised

Recently I feel like my research has been heading in a different direction, so I have revised and re-focused my essay plan. I am now solely going to research and write about magazines as a form of print media. I think as a medium they have had a really interesting transformation as a result of digital technology, and focusing on them in particular will help me develop a more in-depth study of how digitalisation has affected print. 

‘How magazines can survive the digital age’

Dojc, J. (2009) ‘How magazines can survive the digital age’, [internet] http://www.slideshare.net/jdojc/how-magazines-can-survive-the-digital-age [20/12/15]

• ‘Traditional media is losing “news” market share to the internet’
• ‘As people spend more time online, the less they spend with traditional media’
• NO PRINT WILL NOT BE REPLACED – ‘new technology never completely replaces old technology. We generally find a new purpose for ‘old tech’.
• Use example of mass production of images – ‘photography did not replace painting. Impressionism, cubism, surrealism and several other important art movements emerged after the invention of the camera’
• (The same way print changed the way we looked at traditional art (historical portraits) and gave way to new emerging art forms ect. Will digital do the same to print?) put in theory of print gaining this almost religious experience, it becoming a luxury item…or even more so than currently.
• ‘Digital media, social or otherwise, won’t completely replace print media. Print media will evolve’
• ‘Magazines are best positioned amongst traditional media to weather the internet storm as the industry already is structure as a ‘mass of niches’ with a title catering to almost any interest’ (unlike newspapers – provide the news which people want immediately. Magazines provides OPINIONS)
• While 2008 ad revenues are down 11.7%, circulation revenue is up’ (readership is not the problem!!)
• ‘Magazine content is valued by readers. Using advertising as the primary source of funding that content is what is broken’
• ‘There are many newspapers and news shows reporting the same things. Magazines have a voice and in this era voice is values; magazines can create content with unique value and if they continue to find readers across media they will survive’ Jeff Jarvis (author of ‘what would google do’
• ‘Our readers want to know what we think – and they want to tell use what they think. And they want to know what other readers think’ Joan Walsh Editor of Salon.com (advantage of DIGITAL not print – because this idea of interaction and sharing created through digital publishing)
• Examples of magazines that can create revenue without relying heavily on advertising ‘Be a brand!’
• E.g. Maxim – throws parties and opens nightclubs – ‘having multiple revenue streams takes away the publishers dependence on advertising. It also allows for a deeper understanding of the audience allowing for richer marketing partnerships with other brands’
• Be an extension of a pre-existing brand e.g. “O-the Oprah magazine”
• ‘find a receptive captive audience’ – in flight magazines such as en route and commuter magazines like metro.
• Be uber-premium ‘super-premium luxury brands and high newsstand prices can still support certain “high-end” magazines’
• Be an aggregator e.g mine. Tailormade magazines using compiled information based on ‘survey’ or ‘your facebook profile’ ect

‘How old School publishers can win in the digital age’

Satell, G. (2014) ‘How Old School publishers can win in the digital age’, [internet]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/10/05/how-old-school-publishers-can-win-in-the-digital-age/2 [24/12/15]

• Old publishers face a problem not with technology or talent but CULTURE
• With the emergence of digital magazines has been removed as a method to reach a national audience – with the emergence of tablets ‘magazines’ display advertising business has come under attack as well’ ‘profit margins once in the mid-to-high 20’s, are now in the low teens’
• Publishing executives are unwilling to except that ‘the economics of digital are fundamentally different from print’
• According to Satell paywalls (the practice of preventing people from accessing content without a paid subscription) ‘represent the greatest threat to old-line publishers’ because they offer a replacement for ‘distribution revenue from print’
• PAYWALLS WILL NOT WORK, why?
• Innovation is being obstructed by  the chinease wall – the separation of business and journalists in old publishers. – creating a new business model requires ‘collaboration’ between these two sectors
• ‘the publishing industry has clearly failed to adapt’
• Samir Husni (director of the magazine innovation centre) ‘magazine publishers today earn less than 3% of their revenue from digital’
• You would think that without this move into digital old publishers would be going out of business but it is the OPPOSITE. ‘they continue to profit and grow’ ‘even launching successful new print titles like All recipes, HGTV and Food Network’
• Old line publishers are surviving because they are good at their craft and provide their readers with what they want (back to trust thing again) ‘editors know what their readers want and journalists are skilled at delivering it powerfully’

'Perception Vs Reality: Print's power in a digital age'

Lukowitz, K. (?) ‘Perception Vs. Reality: Print’s power in a digital age’ [internet] http://www.magazine.org/node/25206 [22/12/15]

• We are moving into a ‘transcended infinite media age’
• End of mass media age controlled by a small no of companies reaping large profits from a mass audience
• ‘major media outlets seeing shrinking influence’, as smaller audiences are forming
• What does this mean? – ‘Audience segmentation means smaller revenues for individual media, as revenue is spread across the plethora of options available’
• WHY MAY WE BE SEEING A DECLINE? REASONS FOR MAGAZINES DYING OTHER THAN THE INDUSTRY DYING
• ‘the economy forces many consumers to forgo non-essential products’
• ‘if ones magazine dies, it’s not the end of the industry’ – magazines die all the time are unsuccessful. Does not mean that the whole industry is going into decline.
• The ‘futility’ of going only digital
• ‘Few magazine publishers could survive the loss of ad revenue if they discontinued their print versions. While they are becoming increasingly adept at generating revenue from their websites, web-only publishing models cannot supplant a print and web model’

'The Argument for magazines in the Digital Age'

Vasquez, D (2013) ‘The Argument for magazines in the digital age’, [internet] Available from http://www.medialifemagazine.com/the-argument-for-magazines-in-the-digital-age/ [22/12/15]

• Interview with Mary Bemer – president and chief executive officer at the MPA
• Advertising pages – why are they declining? ‘Magazine ad pages continue to decline’ (Vasquez,D) Why and why should they not be?
• The problem is not with readership - 91% of adults read print magazines, 96% of 18-24 years old read print – because it offers a ‘visceral, tactile experience’
• the problem is not with readership – but a ‘advertiser perception problem’ – they do not realise the advantage of a magazine. ‘magazines are built around passions, so advertising fits’ – unlike TV or the internet, where ads are seen as a nuisance
• MAGAZINE MEDIA - What we will see is a transition not from print to digital, but from a ‘print-centric’ approach to ‘magazine media’ – ‘cross-platform’ of both digital and print.
• ‘a new report from the group based on data from Kantar media shows that digital and print media may be working better hand in hand’ (Vasquez,D)
• Of 58 titles surveyed, those who offered print and ipad versions have seen ‘combined units rise 7.5% year over year’  - 0.2% gain in print, 23.6% gain on the tablet
• What keeps magazines relevant?
• First magazine published in 1741, ‘magazines as a category have weathered a ton over the years’
• ‘What keeps them relevant through every age is the relationship with the readers’ – creates a brand that they can trust in.
• ‘There’s kind of a tsunami of content coming at a consumer, and the oasis is a magazine brand you can understand and trust’
• DOES DIGITAL OFFER SOMETHING DIFFEREN THOUGH? - Tablets ‘replicate the print experience’ most closely, and offer something print cannot – ‘action-based engagement’ of sharing editorial and interacting with ads

'Advertising Promised Land has become a digital desert'

Preston, P. (2015) ‘Advertising Promised Land has become a digital desert’, [internet] Available from http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/29/advertising-promised-land-digital-desert-online-ad-reveues?CMP=share_btn_tw [22/12/15]

• Using the example of the Daily Mail – one of the most popular news websites, and it regularly updates their shareholders meaning you can see its progress/revenue pretty clearly
• In the 80m digital revenue expected, only 73m transpired. 41% growth has slowed to 18%. This is still growth, but ‘it also signals a grinding halt to vaulting expectations’
• The problem is not readership, with ’13.2 million unique browsers every day’. The fact is that this is ‘not yet a success with profits to match’
• Why? – ‘the curse of ad blocking: 18% of UK adults, on the latest surveys, now block away’
• There is NOT a transition from print to digital. Because ‘a problem for papers that foresee some gradual replacement of all print endeavours by digital versions. Where does the money come from?’