There is much talk about The New York Times not doing so well, in fact, they’re doing awful and the question is whether they will survive. It’s when an institution like NYT, who has defined what journalism is for over 150 years, won 98 Pulitzer prizes and has one of internet’s most visited websites, has a hard time figuring out a business model that you realise that printed publications’ existence is seriously threatened. Russell Davies’ point about print not being what’s threatened, but the business models, helps when trying to understand what the future will look like. You can’t monetize on things people do not want, so you have to go back to the essence; the need.
An excellent example of this is Vogue’s September Issue. In September 2007 they release the single largest issue of a magazine ever produced. The 5 pound heavy magazine offers 727 pages of advertising but this is not something revolutionising in itself. What is breaking new ground is the insight of what Vogue has to offer its readers; what need they can satisfy. They have a process, insights and content that differs them from the rest of the industry, they have the superstar editor Anna Wintour and they have access to things few people knew existed, the making of the magazine can in fact be more interesting than the magazine itself.
Vogue realised what their readers were interested in, how the magazine is being done and they capitalised on it. On the Sundance Festival the documentary The September Issue will premier and it’s a documentary about the 9 month process leading up to the famous issue of Vogue. The director claims to have full access and this looks to offer an amazing insight. But if I had a choice I would be much more interested in seeing the book review editors battle it out over at The New York Times.
Harper’s Bazaar is also doing something different, its March issue will be the largest they’ve ever done, not page wise but format wise increasing in size with15%.
Sources: Vassa Eggen, LA Times, Magtastic.