Bo Sacks distributed an article about how magazines could thrive in the digital age, which got me thinking about that subject. I have some clients who publish magazines, so it’s relevant to me.
Let’s start with a definition of “magazine.” It’s a periodical publication that includes a collection of articles on a variety of topics within a single issue. I would insist that a magazine is a print publication, but that’s not relevant for today’s discussion.
A magazine is …
- Periodical
- Less urgent
- A laid-back, immersive experience
- Strongly visual (otherwise it’s a newsletter)
- Composed of articles that are typically of moderate depth. It’s not a tweet and it’s not a book
- Cohesive. There’s some concept that ties it all together across issues
A constantly updated website is not a magazine because it’s not a periodical publication with articles. I’m not saying anything against that form of publication, it’s just not a magazine.
Now let’s think about what kinds of information people are looking for, and where they’re most likely to look for it. In other words, where in the sea of information seeking and consuming does the magazine fit?
First, it goes without saying that anything that can be published in a magazine can be published online, so to find the magazine’s place in the modern world, you have to ask (1) is the magazine format even conceptually reasonable for that kind of information, and (2) does the laid-back, immersive, visual quality of the magazine add something of value. It is better than a website?
Here’s my list of different types of information needs. (I’ve highlighted the places where magazines might fit if you want to jump to those sections.)
| Type of information | Where I’d expect to find it | |
| Emergency updates | Radio, TV, text message, social media. A magazine is too slow. | |
| Straight News / Current events – just the facts | News website, newspaper. Some people would think social media, but that’s usually a discovery mechanism for the news article. Again, a magazine is too slow. | |
| A perspective on news / current events | Podcast, YouTube, Cable “news,” late night TV. There might be a place here for a magazine, but generally it’s too slow. People don’t want a perspective on last week’s news, let alone last month’s. | |
| Opinion — one level abstracted from “a perspective” | Podcast, YouTube, cable “news,” late night TV, the pulpit. This could be a place for a magazine. It’s not as urgent, and it’s more of a laid-back experience – although there’s nothing inherently visual about it. It also has some cohesion as a concept. | |
| Humor and puzzles | We can find these anywhere, including inside of a magazine, but a magazine devoted to humor or puzzles seems odd. There’s nothing periodical about it. | |
| Reviews of products, restaurants, etc. | Everyone expects to find these online. It might work in a magazine on local or hobby interests, but I can’t see a magazine devoted to this. | |
| Hobby information (including travel) | Hobby websites are great, but hobby information seems like a great fit for the magazine format. It’s laid back, it’s cohesive, and there can be a strong visual component. | |
| Science and technology updates | You can get this online, but this is a decent fit for the magazine format, although I get the impression that professional scientists read most of this online. | |
| Information from a partisan, ideological, or religious perspective | We expect to find this on podcasts, YouTube, and from the pulpit, but this is a decent fit for magazines. It’s not urgent, and it can be periodical, but it might not be visual, and it doesn’t seem to have a benefit over podcasts and such. | |
| Professional / trade information | This seems like a good fit for a magazine. The information isn’t changing too fast, and there’s a cohesiveness to it. There can often be a strong visual component to this kind of information. | |
| Quick factual questions | AI will dominate this. | |
| Casual understanding of an issue | This is the territory of the bookazine. It’s not a periodical, although there could be annual issues, I suppose. | |
| Deep understanding of an issue | Lecture series, university classes, books. This is too deep for a magazine. | |
| Databases | Exclusively online, for obvious reasons. | |
| Tools (maps) | Almost exclusively online. I like a paper map when I’m backpacking, but this is not magazine territory. | |
| Instructional / educational content | Highlights for children might be close here, but this is moving to online video. | |
| Advice (legal, retirement, investments, health and wellness, career, social) | People seek this online, but this is also a good fit for magazines. It’s cohesive, but it might not be very visual. | |
| Cultural and entertainment news | Same as above. People seek it online, but an entertainment magazine makes some sense. It’s not urgent information, and it can be visual. | |
| Historical information | Museums, books, online resources. Biblical Archeology Review has had a long run, so there might be some space here. | |
| Local news and information | This seems better in a newspaper than a magazine, but there are local magazines, like Yankee magazine. |
Magazines can fit into some of these areas in principle, but I haven’t addressed the 800 pound gorilla, which is printing and mailing. A magazine – that is, a print magazine – has to have great circulation, a great advertising base, or it has to be able to charge a premium price to survive in the current environment.
An e-magazine doesn’t have those problems, but it has to address the periodical question. The periodical nature of a print magazine makes perfect sense. But with an e-magazine you have to ask why is it better to serve information in issues rather than on a constantly updated website?
As of right now, images in a magazine are a little more appealing than images online, although that hasn’t stopped the online porn industry – which can go straight to Hell in my opinion. But this is another dividing line for the magazine. Is there an advantage to a still image over a video?
I hope that analysis helps you to put this question in some perspective. It’s not as simple as “everything is going online,” but magazines clearly face a lot of headwinds. They’re not quick. They don’t have video or audio. They’re expensive to produce. They have to answer why the periodical format makes sense. In short, they have to make a case for why they’re better than what people can get online, and that’s an increasingly difficult case to make.
Oh … one last thing. Some people assume that “digital natives” — people who grew up with technology — will turn away from print. That has not turned out to be true. A lot of younger people prefer print.
Links
SXSW: Top Editors, Media Execs Discuss How Magazines Could Thrive In the Digital Age
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