Category Archives: Magazines

The Economist on where it is banned or censored

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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…

ReadWriteWeb: Newsweek loses another journalist to new media as reporter joins HuffPo

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Howard Fineman, a reporter at Newsweek for 30 years, is joining the Huffington Post. Fineman will become a senior editor for HuffPo. ReadWriteWeb comments on the number of Newsweek journalists who have left the title since its sale by the Washington Post Company to businessman Sidney Harman and the new homes many have found with new media titles.

Full post on ReadWriteWeb at this link…

Linefeed: Can digital distribution replace the local newsagent?

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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

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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…

Paparazzi agencies delay People iPad app launch

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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…

Why a journalism degree will only get you so far

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Got a journalism degree but can’t get a job? It’s a struggle facing countless graduates at the moment, but what is the actual value of a degree in such a competitive industry?

According to Canadian graduate Laura Drake, writing on the Macleans ‘OnCampus’ magazine website, no one should think spending a few years at university is a golden pass to employment.

What a journalism undergraduate degree will get you are amazing memories, good connections with profs who know hundreds of working journalists, marketable skills in the form of writing and communications abilities. What it will not get you, and what no one ever promises it will get you, is a job in journalism.

To be clear, in my recollection, no one at j-skool ever lied about this, either. I’m pretty sure that from literally day one, lectures included messages from profs that, if you wanted to get a job in journalism on the other side, then you were going to have to hustle outside of class. A journalism degree on its own is never, ever going to get anyone a job in media. Students, newspaper experience, community radio, working for small-town media, free work placements, academic exchanges and, at this point, extra curricular web experience are basically mandatory if you’re interested in hunting for a job.

It’s as I was always told, every qualification, experience and contact is like a key. The more keys you have, the more doors you can open.

See her full post here…

paidContent: Decline in consumer magazine circulations slows

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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…

New Scientist peeks into people’s buying brains with ‘neuromarketing’

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Certainly among the more forward thinking magazines in terms of content, New Scientist has this week boldly gone where no magazine (they “suspect”) has gone before: neuromarketing.

Neuromarketing is a from of marketing that uses brain-imaging technology to “peek into people’s heads and discover what they really want”.

You may find that sinister. What right does anyone have to try to read your mind? Or perhaps you are sceptical and consider the idea laughable. But neuromarketing, once dismissed as a fad, is becoming part and parcel of modern consumer society. So we decided to take a good look at it – and try it out ourselves.

A group of New Scientist readers – 19 men, to be precise – were connected to an electroencephalograph (EEG) machine shown various cover designs for the latest edition, after which NeuroFocus Europe, the company undertaking the tests, looked for “specific EEG patterns which the company believes betray whether or not a person will buy a product”.

The winning design is now on the newsstands. As for how it will sell, that is another test entirely.

See the full post at this link…

You can also take part in the magazine’s “Rate the Cover” survey at this link.

Zinio and Rolling Stone launch first iTunes-integrated iPad app

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Zinio, a leading digital publishing company, has teamed up with Rolling Stone magazine to offer iPad an iTunes-integrated feature.

For Rolling Stone’s ‘500 Greatest Songs Of All Time’ issue, users of the Zinio Magazine Newsstand & Reader App on their iPads will be able to listen to samples and buy the tracks on iTunes through the application as they read about them in the magazine.

Rolling Stone executive editor Jason Fine said: These are all the songs you need to have on your iPad. With Zinio, you can listen to the songs while you read, giving our audience an exciting way to experience the list.”

The interactive edition will be available on other platforms, and can be sampled on your PC here.

Conde Nast appoints new chief technology officer

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Magazine publisher Conde Nast has a new chief technology officer – whose first task will be to manage the expansion of the group’s publications, according to Wired.com.

Conde Nast, which is the parent organisation of Wired.com, announced the arrival of Joe Simon, formerly chief technology officer at Viacom, yesterday. Wired.com says the new recruit will be faced with the job of extending the company’s portfolio onto multiple platforms.

Periodicals of all stripes are staring down plenty of challenges these days, due to the massive proliferation of alternate entertainment and information options in these connected times. But they’re also faced with a major opportunity: to expand beyond the paper and website formats. The iPad is clearly a step forward in this regard, and looks fairly innovative now. But it’s by no means the final word on digital magazine publishing, according to Sauerberg, Jr., who hopes his new hire will expand the company’s reach potentially to dozens of further platforms.

See the full post here…