Now, as a student PR I should be slightly worried about this BUT as the only newspaper that I quickly flick through is the Metro, I'm kinda not that concerned. What I am worried about though are magazines? With Conde Nast already closing a number of their more specialised publications, are magazines facing the same dreaded fate?
After thinking long and hard about this I have 2 theories:
1) It is not because of the Internet that magazines are in danger, but because of the recession. Rather than going out and buying every glossy on the shelf like the good old days, people are opting to buy their favourite and swap with friends. Once the recession is well and truly over, magazine purchases will soar (just like shoes, clothing, expensive hair cuts and holidays).
2) Magazines hold more value than newspapers!! Sure, newspapers have a nostalgic feel to them and there's nothing better than sitting with a massive newspaper and reading what's going on in the world. This feeling is even better when it is the middle of Winter, half the words are on your hands and/or face, it's fallen apart from the 30 seconds you were in the wind and your on the Tube. In rush hour. Oh and don't forget the Rainforests are dying and the Earth is getting hotter, Ice caps melting, water-levels rising....
Reading the latest headlines on a computer screen or a phone or an iPad isn't a bad alternative when you consider the above. Think of it as a natural progression.
This situation is not the same for magazines. Firstly, magazines are not daily; they are weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, you get the idea and they are not just abandoned on empty chairs. Therefore they are less damaging to the environment.
Secondly, and probably the most important point is that they offer something that a newspaper or an online version can never provide. They are an escapism, inspiration. Think of all the times you have bought Vogue or Elle or my personal favourite Love and just curled up under a blanket with a hot chocolate and looked at all the clothes and read all the articles. How many times have you found a pair of shoes you have to have and saved up to get them, or how many exhibitions you have been to see just because Marie Claire says it's good. Think of all the amazing writers, photographers, designers and artists that have been discovered all because magazines are read. Thakoon was discovered through a Vogue initiative, without that who knows where he would have been now!
Those glossy pages offer so much more than overpriced clothing and endless 'dribble' about nothing. I don't even think I can put into words the impact magazines have.
I'm not the only one with this view. A number of highly influential people in the publishing industry have teamed together to help save print http://powerofmagazines.com/index.html On this site are facts and figures about the magazine industry and this cute little advert which offers a slighty different, and perhaps more informed view of the future of print.
Apart from creating writers, I'm pretty sure newspapers don't offer the same experience....
