So I am sitting here trying to figure out how to pack another pair of boots
into my suitcase for a two week stint in the mountains. The suitcase is
winning so I'm not in a good way. I also feel like I'm getting sick so
that's strike two. I was thinking I was going to take a day off from
yammering but I just have to tell you about a great article I found on WSJ
today heralding the return of print, and magazines in particular due in part
to a huge campaign by five big publishers.
you only click on this blog because you see it pop up on Facebook or Twitter
or some other thing. But I must tell you that I will never ever give up my
magazines, albeit kicking and screaming. I love magazines, always have,
always will. Still a very captivating tool if you ask me- nothing beats the
touch and feel of a new Vanity Fair when settling into a long flight. I for
one still enjoy turning a page. Magazines are still powerful cultural
currency and a viable source of information and inspiration. I have been
saying for months that the power of digital is beyond comprehension, but I
have been wondering if there will be a return for more traditional media as
some folks begin to feel disconnected from each other, let alone the printed
word. I'm excerpting but this is powerful stuff in a quote from none other than
Jann Wenner, a pivotal force in mag land: "The spark for the campaign was a "manifesto" Mr. Wenner penned last year,
in which he said that just as TV didn't kill magazines, the Internet was a
threat only to publications that lost focus on what makes magazines unique.
"In a certain way, this campaign is aimed at the magazine business itself,"
Mr. Wenner. That the campaign might seem out of sync coming from an industry that has
spent so much time trying to prove it can hold its own in the digital arena
is beside the point, executives involved in the collaboration say. The
purpose of the campaign is to remind people that these brands are rooted in
print products with huge cultural and commercial influence, they say. "Going digital is very important to Time Inc., but I don't want my clients
to believe that no one is reading the printed word," says Time Inc. Chief
Executive Ann Moore." Read the full article below and viva la print- Ms. Wintour need not quit her
day job just yet... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703940704575090120113003314.html