Death of Another Print Magazine

[anng]

I was kind of surprised to hear that Newsweek of all magazines has decided to end their print edition. The magazine will only be available in digital format after December. My parents are old enough that they won't read something in digital format, they simply can't stand it. They've been Newsweek subscribers for years, so I'm certain this news is going to upset them.

Our newspaper's been talking about doing that too. They've switched so that you can no longer read the news online without paying a monthly fee, and that made readership drastically decline. Then they shrunk the newspaper down to a National Enquirer sized paper and people were outraged. I find it kind of sad, as so many journalism majors in this area are struggling to find work. My nephew became a waiter instead for two years before he found a job out of state.

[prosperg]

Originally Posted by anng

I was kind of surprised to hear that Newsweek of all magazines has decided to end their print edition. The magazine will only be available in digital format after December. My parents are old enough that they won't read something in digital format, they simply can't stand it. They've been Newsweek subscribers for years, so I'm certain this news is going to upset them.

Our newspaper's been talking about doing that too. They've switched so that you can no longer read the news online without paying a monthly fee, and that made readership drastically decline. Then they shrunk the newspaper down to a National Enquirer sized paper and people were outraged. I find it kind of sad, as so many journalism majors in this area are struggling to find work. My nephew became a waiter instead for two years before he found a job out of state.

Unfortunately, Newsweek won't be the last. This trend will continue. I don't mind reading newspapers and magazines online, but I will not pay a fee to do it. However, if paying a fee becomes popular many other online news outlets will follow. I am not fond of Kindle though. I like to touch my books, write in them, make markers in them, etc...I like the way they look on my bookshelf with various colors and sizes, it's so aesthetic.

[anng]

Originally Posted by prosperg

Unfortunately, Newsweek won't be the last. This trend will continue. I don't mind reading newspapers and magazines online, but I will not pay a fee to do it. However, if paying a fee becomes popular many other online news outlets will follow. I am not fond of Kindle though. I like to touch my books, write in them, make markers in them, etc...I like the way they look on my bookshelf with various colors and sizes, it's so aesthetic.

Because I review, I get about 50 books a month and I far prefer my Nook to the books that are overstacked on shelves or in piles on the floor. But images on my Nook (it's one of the originals, so not very fast) take forever to load, so I'd never read a magazine or newspaper on it. It's bad enough trying to review cookbooks when you have to wait five minutes every time there's a picture or some hand-drawn graphic, I can't imagine trying to read for pleasure when things take so long to load.

[maryalene]

I haven't read Newsweek in ages, but the last time I saw a copy, I was shocked by how thin it was! Time has been slowly losing weight too...wonder if they will be following suit.

[Jonelle]

Just to play devil's advocate.... as writers who write primarily online, and who like to be paid for our work, why should we object to paying a fee to access online magazines and newspapers? The publisher still has expenses to cover, including paying writers, even when eliminating print.

Don't get me wrong, I like freebies as much as the next person, yet when all online stuff is expected to be free, it's hard for publishers to be profitable. Advertising won't necessarily cover the costs of a high quality publication.

[Del S]

Originally Posted by Jonelle

Advertising won't necessarily cover the costs of a high quality publication.

I think advertising is the big issue here. My husband works at our local newspaper in the ad department and the company is just limping along. They still put out a paper product (at least for now) but their main focus is on the online edition. They simply can't ask for the huge advertising dollars for digital that they could for print -- businesses aren't going to pay thousands of dollars for a print ad when they can spend a fraction of that money, put it online (due to supply and demand) and feel they're reaching more people. For whatever reason, the value of an online ad is seen as "less than" print.

Also, even though we get paid to write online, so many people read stuff online for free that they just don't see why they have to pay a fee to read anything on the 'net.

As someone who loves paper books, I find all of this very sad.

[Marketing Maven]

I'm sorry to hear this. I get it every week and love to flip through it. I regularly disagree with some of the articles when I first read them, but later find myself thinking the topic in a new light. They have some good writers.

I have never warmed up to digital readers. They're convenient, but the info seems to enter my brain differently than reading print on the page. I wonder if I'll ever adapt fully. I guess I better try, the way things are going!

It's good for those of us making a living online. I imagine we have a better chance at online magazines than the mainstream print.

[Ms. Frizz]

I don't have a problem with paying for an online subscription, but I do an issue with this situation in general. Sometimes I buy an issue of a magazine occasionally but I don't want to subscribe. I worry that online versions of magazines would take away this option.

[anng]

Originally Posted by Jonelle

Just to play devil's advocate.... as writers who write primarily online, and who like to be paid for our work, why should we object to paying a fee to access online magazines and newspapers? The publisher still has expenses to cover, including paying writers, even when eliminating print.

Don't get me wrong, I like freebies as much as the next person, yet when all online stuff is expected to be free, it's hard for publishers to be profitable. Advertising won't necessarily cover the costs of a high quality publication.

A magazine I wouldn't mind paying for, IF I had a reader that processed the images faster. Newspaper, I do object solely because a few years ago, our paper decided to let novice writers submit news stories for no payment, just a byline. They outsource the editing to India now (I had a friend laid off because of the outsourcing), so their expenses are much lower now than they were. I can't justify them asking $18 a month to access a paper when it's horrible quality and I know how much ad revenue they pull in. A lot of the money the paper makes now ends up in the higher-up's pockets rather than with the dwindling staff.

[CJWrite]

Wow... Newsweek!

Call me old fashioned, but I prefer real books and magazines made from real, tangible materials, not a digital jug-flop. I have a pretty decent sized home library in my office that I love to periodically rearrange and organize. (Sometimes, I even love to just sit there and look at it.

I'm sure Kindles and similar devices are convenient and more organized, but they just seem so "cold". I might not mind one to replace my random fiction paperbacks, but it could never replace my "classics" collection and non-fiction books.

I'm a bit of a magazine addict, especially the home improvement / design magazines, which I frequently mangle and cut apart to fill my build-my-house "scrapbook". I can't imagine having to access one of my favorite magazines only online. If that were the case, I think I'd end up simply switching to another more "traditional" print magazine.

Even though about all of my income comes primarily from online sources, it's instances like this that make me abhor the internet. Sometimes I miss the "good ol' days", when I actually had to flip through the pages of a dictionary or encyclopedia...