Sunday, March 29, 2015
Why This New Wave of Independent Magazines is Thriving
Why This New Wave of Independent Magazines is Thriving
March 26, 2015, David Pilcher
“If you believe what you read,” writes Rana Niamh Smith in The Telegraph, “the print media has been on its deathbed ever since the birth of the internet.”
“But someone forgot to tell the creatives behind the latest wave of independent magazines,” Smith continues. “There seems to be a new launch looking for funding on Kickstarter every week, and the sector is booming: last year the independent-magazine subscription service Stack reported a 78 per cent increase in revenue, with its number of subscribers growing by 76 per cent.”
What’s behind this growth is a move away from mass market publications, and toward boutique-style magazines that dive deeply into a narrower niche.
This is an excerpt. To read the entire article click here.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Why Journalists are Not Happy These Days
From: http://www.freeportpress.com/why-journalists-are-not-happy-these-days/
Why Journalists Are Not Happy These Days
March 19, 2015David Pilcher
The hallmark of good technology is that it makes our lives easier, more enjoyable and therefore makes us happier. So why are so many journalists saying that working in this digital tech-heavy age is harder than ever?
“According to the survey of North American journalists and media professionals released today, 68% of journalists feel that their job has become more difficult in the last 5 years,” notes this article from Talking New Media.
The article cites results from a survey conducted by ISEBOX.com that showed “an overwhelming number of journalists and media professionals are unhappy with how they are approached by corporate communications, resulting in working longer hours and increased frustration.”
“There seems to be a major gap between what reporters need, and how corporate communications are providing these needs,” says Salvatore Salpietro, CTO of ISEBOX.com in the TNM article.
“There is increasing pressure to gain earned media coverage by corporate communications and public relations teams, yet they are still making the process very difficult for media to access content and put together a story by using things like FTP, email, locked-down websites, and manual requests – all of these are enthusiasm-killers,” Salpietro continued.
With the growing focus on multi-media content, journalists are still finding that most pitches from corporate communications departments and PR agencies do not offer images, videos, graphics or even corporate logos, leaving the reporter to scramble to put it together.
“If a pitch doesn’t contain graphics I can include with my article, it’s hard for me to take it on. Even better if there is a video. I am under strict deadlines to produce at least 5-7 articles a day, and visual content is always required. Wasting hours sourcing and editing a company’s logo or media content to accompany a post is something I literally cannot afford,” says Karen Fratti, freelance writer for Mediabistro and Huffington Post.
“When a pitch comes with everything attached, no cumbersome downloads, I want to hug that PR rep. And, I’m more likely to pick up on the next release from them, too,” she says.
Next time you make a pitch, do the journalist and yourself a favor and tuck in the multi-media content they need with your email. Content, baby, content.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Digital Shift the Only Way to Save Some Newspapers
From eReader: http://goodereader.com/blog/digital-publishing/digital-shift-the-only-way-to-save-some-newspapers
Digital Shift the Only Way to Save Some Newspapers
March 9, 2015 By Mercy Pilkington 0 Comments
With all of the focus on making the transition to digital and how that is helping news outlets and periodicals alike, it’s easy to overlook the fact that it’s not just about increasing ad revenue or reaching subscribers where they read. For some outlets, it will mean the difference between closing their doors and keeping a centuries-old institution alive.
In an article for DelawareOnline, Scott Goss highlighted the struggles of the 133-year-old University of Delaware student weekly newspaper, a tradition at the university that has seen circulation drop from 10,000 subscribers to only 2,000, and advertising drop significantly.
“You come into this role and you see it as an editorial job,” said Elizabeth Quartararo, The Review‘s editor-in-chief, to Goss. “You don’t expect that it’s going to require a lot of business savvy or that you’re going to have to make real business decisions that could affect what the paper looks like five or 10 years from now.”
Before considering a switch to being a digital-only imprint, a move that still hasn’t been confirmed due to the long-standing history and sentimental value of the print edition, Review staffers even attempted a crowdfunding campaign to bring enough donations to keep the paper in operation in its current form.
If it serves as any consolation to the staff and to university administrators who will make the ultimate decision to continue funding the effort or not, this issue is in no way limited to this particular paper. Apart from the multiple news outlets who’ve already adopted digital in some large-scale way, universities around the country are also making the transition to digital, whether it’s for campus news, student magazines, alumni reports, or any other similar publication. According to Goss, “Many former dailies, such as Boston University’s Daily Free Press and the University of California Berkley’s Daily Californian, are now printing fewer days a week…The Columbia Daily Spectator, the student newspaper of Columbia University in New York, completed a successful transition to an all-digital product last spring, when it became the first Ivy League school to eliminate its print edition.”
Unfortunately, the switch to digital also carries with it a built-in flaw, which is that subscribers expect to read digital at a lower price–hence a lot of the argument between booksellers and publishers over ebook pricing–and advertisers expect to pay less for digital ad space. While the costs associated with producing a digital edition are minimally lower due to eliminating the print, production, and distribution costs, that expense is usually nominal compared with the salaries of the people who are writing and editing the content and producing the layout. That expense didn’t diminish just because the reading format has changed.
Digital Shift the Only Way to Save Some Newspapers
March 9, 2015 By Mercy Pilkington 0 Comments
With all of the focus on making the transition to digital and how that is helping news outlets and periodicals alike, it’s easy to overlook the fact that it’s not just about increasing ad revenue or reaching subscribers where they read. For some outlets, it will mean the difference between closing their doors and keeping a centuries-old institution alive.
In an article for DelawareOnline, Scott Goss highlighted the struggles of the 133-year-old University of Delaware student weekly newspaper, a tradition at the university that has seen circulation drop from 10,000 subscribers to only 2,000, and advertising drop significantly.
“You come into this role and you see it as an editorial job,” said Elizabeth Quartararo, The Review‘s editor-in-chief, to Goss. “You don’t expect that it’s going to require a lot of business savvy or that you’re going to have to make real business decisions that could affect what the paper looks like five or 10 years from now.”
Before considering a switch to being a digital-only imprint, a move that still hasn’t been confirmed due to the long-standing history and sentimental value of the print edition, Review staffers even attempted a crowdfunding campaign to bring enough donations to keep the paper in operation in its current form.
If it serves as any consolation to the staff and to university administrators who will make the ultimate decision to continue funding the effort or not, this issue is in no way limited to this particular paper. Apart from the multiple news outlets who’ve already adopted digital in some large-scale way, universities around the country are also making the transition to digital, whether it’s for campus news, student magazines, alumni reports, or any other similar publication. According to Goss, “Many former dailies, such as Boston University’s Daily Free Press and the University of California Berkley’s Daily Californian, are now printing fewer days a week…The Columbia Daily Spectator, the student newspaper of Columbia University in New York, completed a successful transition to an all-digital product last spring, when it became the first Ivy League school to eliminate its print edition.”
Unfortunately, the switch to digital also carries with it a built-in flaw, which is that subscribers expect to read digital at a lower price–hence a lot of the argument between booksellers and publishers over ebook pricing–and advertisers expect to pay less for digital ad space. While the costs associated with producing a digital edition are minimally lower due to eliminating the print, production, and distribution costs, that expense is usually nominal compared with the salaries of the people who are writing and editing the content and producing the layout. That expense didn’t diminish just because the reading format has changed.
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