People are whispering. They are saying it loud also that the magazines are dying!

Does that also mean that the readers are dying? or the advertisers are dying? or the editorial people are dying? or the publishers…?

Yes! Perhaps the most affected amongst the fraternity are the publishers only. If not dying literally, they are the one who are suffering the most because of the bad phase of the print magazines are going through.

First, let us accept the major facts and the broad reasons behind them (not in any particular order, not even alphabetically… you may rearrange the order of following points as you like) –

• Magazines are not doing good (business/profit) because the readers are losing interests in magazines.
• Readers are losing their interests in magazines because the magazines are no more as great and engaging as they used to be earlier.
• Magazines are no more that great and engaging because the publishers are not putting great resources and best editorial talent in magazines.
• Publishers are not putting great resources and best talent in magazines because the magazines are not doing good (business/profit).

Now, you can sit back and say with a sigh that it’s a vicious cycle, who will make the first move.

Yes, you can do so if you are a reader or an advertiser or a editorial person, but definitely not if you are a publisher. Because the publisher is the one who is bleeding the most, he only has to make first move to break this vicious cycle. If someone has to take step forward to make the situation better, it has to be the publisher for his own interest. He needs to put money, better resources, best talent to produce the great magazines. Great magazines then in return will attract and engage the readers. More engaged readers will then make sense to the advertisers to put money and finally the publisher will get profitable business in return for his investment… simple!

Hmmm… it sounds purely theoretical and quite impractical, but as a publisher do you have another solution to the situation? If yes, please go ahead with that otherwise just try this and improve the situation in everybody’s interests, yours too!

– G S Virdi
Editor and Magazine Consultant