Many, many, many have talked about the threat of the new media against the old media. Now it’s the magazines’ turn. It is known Oprah’s magazine ‘O’ is struggling – which is in part due to the decreasing fan base of Ms. Winfrey herself, but partly also because the medium is outdated. Ms. Winfrey’s quote however brings a new perspective to the table, ”I don’t care what the form is, I care about what the message is.” (NYT)
Another blog on Mr Magazine says the magazines might just be revived by sticking to their standards. A Thanksgiving deal by Hearst magazines which gives you a full year membership for $5, might be a cry for help but the positivist outlook proves different. Wherever networks are eyeing for ratings and newspapers for subscriptions, they sometimes lose their vision out of sight and do anything for that extra viewer. Magazines however try to stick to their values and care about content.
No shameless tries for memberships, no evoking controversy for readers. No, magazines refuse to change and hope their continuity will prevail in the end. Good for you, magazines. I don’t know if it makes sense and magazines will ever be successful again, but I want to believe so.
