Tag Archives: Magazines

New figures suggest continued growth for US magazine advertising

Advertising revenue for US magazines continued to increase for the second quarter in a row according to figures released yesterday from the Publishers Information Bureau and posted on the Association of Magazine Media website.

The results for the third quarter of 2010 suggest that rate-card revenue and the number of magazine advertising pages both increased overall compared to the same period in 2009.

The number of ad pages rose by 3.6 per cent following a 0.8 per cent growth in the previous quarter, with a total of 136 magazines reporting a rise in ad pages, compared to 25 magazines in the same period last year. PIB also reported that 132 titles recorded revenue increases this quarter, while only 37 titles did in the same period last year. PIB rate-card revenues were reported to be up by 5.3 per cent.

Reporting on the results the Wall Street Journal said the statistics should give publishers “more hope that the declines that killed dozens of well-known titles in 2009 are behind them”.

Mediaweek: Condé Nast launches business competition for editorial staff

Condé Nast has launched a competition for editorial staff in the US to come up with new business ideas and projects. The pitch deemed to have the most money-making potential will be rewarded with travel credits, reports Mediaweek, which suggests that the publisher is introducing more sales department incentives into the editorial operations of the company’s titles.

Full story on Mediaweek at this link…

allmediascotland: New business magazine launched in Scotland

A new business magazine has been launched in Scotland. BQ Scotland is edited by Kenny Kemp, who is a Scottish Press Award winner for business and financial writing.

Published by Room 501, BQ already has north east and Yorkshire editions.

Full story on allmediascotland at this link…

The Economist on where it is banned or censored

The Economist has released information on countries that have banned or censored its issues:

Since January 2009 the Economist has been banned or censored in 12 of the 190-odd countries in which it is sold, with news-stand (as opposed to subscription) copies particularly at risk. India, the only democracy on our list, has censored 31 issues and at first glance might look like the worst culprit. However its censorship consists of stamping “Illegal” on maps of Kashmir because it disputes the borders shown. China is more proscriptive. Distributors destroy copies or remove articles that contain contentious political content, and maps of Taiwan are usually blacked out.

Full chart on the Economist at this link…

The print industry: an infographic

From last week, but a good-looking infographic that takes gives an overview of the state of the print industry as a whole, from books to newspapers and magazines. Who knew the death of print could be so colourful?

Is Print Dead? (Infographic)

(Hat tip to @ianbissell. Full sources for the information in the graphic are available on Sketchee.com)

Linefeed: Can digital distribution replace the local newsagent?

A look at the changing prominence of the local newsagent in the magazine distribution chain: how important is browsing to selling magazines? And how can digital distribution channels replicate this?

I want to say the iPhone has replaced the local newsagency as my first port-of-call for that similar rush of information, but that’s not entirely true. I think I have just become tired of their lack of ambition. They don’t change. A whole industry in flux swirls around them and they just stay the same. Only with less and less titles on their shelves. Your unambitious local newsagent is only partly to blame though. The crux of the problem lies in distribution.

Full article on Linefeed at this link…

Rarefied truth at rarefied atmospheres: the in-flight magazine that tells all

Safi Airlines’ in-flight magazine tells it like it is. Not for Kabul’s start-up airline is the rose-tinted journalism of the traditional in-flight magazine: Safi’s reading material typically includes the likes of “an article on Kabul heroin addicts, photos of bullet-pocked tourist sites and ads for mine-resistant sport-utility vehicles”.

Says Christian Marks, the magazine’s cheerfully blunt German editor: “I would like it to be a magazine where you can read interesting things, not just get brainwashed by some marketing agency that says you can’t show problems.”

And Marks’ is a truly warts’n’all approach, as the magazine’s hotel guide shows:

The rooms are individually air-conditioned, accessorised with amenities you will find in 4-star hotels abroad, sheets are clean, view from the room is nice, and – after the suicide bombing that took place – security measures have been implemented.

Full story on the Wall Street Journal at this link…

paidContent: Hearst Magazines launches ‘App Lab’ in New York

Hearst Magazines is launching an “App Lab” at its New York offices, which, according to paidContent, will act as an an incubator space for the company’s marketers and ad agency workers before being opened up to customers to promote Hearst’s iPhone, iPad and tablet products.

The publisher offers 22 apps so far and has all of its magazines available as digital replicas through the e-edition service Zinio says the report.

Full post on paidContent.org at this link…

Paparazzi agencies delay People iPad app launch

Celebrity magazine publishers could have problems getting their products onto the iPad device, according to the Hollywood Reporter, as photo agencies are reportedly “banding together” to try and reach an agreement with one title – People magazine – to seek extra compensation for use of their images.

This has been linked to the postponed launch date of the publication’s new app, although this is denied by a spokesperson for the magazine in the report.

While the standoff centers on one publication for now, just about any other brand that makes photos of the rich and famous their stock in trade is watching nervously from the sidelines. Whatever deal they strike could set the terms of trade for the industry going forward.

See their full report here…

paidContent: Decline in consumer magazine circulations slows

Drops in consumer magazine circulations appear to be improving according to a report by PaidContent on the Audit Bureau of Circulations’ Fas-Fax report today.

The downward trajectory of consumer magazine circulation appears to have slowed in the first half of the year. While publishers weren’t able to muster the slightly positive growth that ad pages have had lately—the Publishers Information Bureau recorded its first increase in ad pages and rates after two negative years last month—but as mags rely more on paid circ to pay the bills, these numbers are becoming more crucial. So far, paid circ is becoming more stable, but newsstand sales are struggling much harder.

According to the report, total paid and verified circulations for the first six months of this year still saw a decrease of 2.27 per cent on the same period last year.

See the report here…