When and where will we find content-ment? Print — a dying medium.

By Emily on November 16th, 2009 in General Thoughts |

Oh, how I do love magazines. The pancake-like stacks that snake around my room don’t bother me one bit; in fact, it’s my own kind of feng shui. Toes-be-stubbed, I’d rather have corners to fold than cyberspace pages to bookmark. And I truly feel that I must not, correction, cannot be alone. Despite my optimism, I’ve started to see popular newspapers and magazines squashed like flies. This economy is unforgiving but who knew such large and reputable newspapers like the Seattle Post-Intelligencer would be toast? My uncle, a science writer for the PI, was one of many they let go. Only 20-ish online reporters remain. He and a few other P-I vets helped create ‘It’s Not In the P-I’, a play that premiered last week.

Condé Nast recently put the kibosh on Gourmet, Cookie and Modern Bride. For some, a magazine like Gourmet leaving magazine stands is as peculiar as it is disappointing. The September issue of Vogue, known for its chunky build, was plucked down to 427 pages total, a 36 percent decrease from the year before.

They’ve tried, they really have. Cutting down physical size, losing pages and issues and still they suffer. Any ideas? Sporadic “special issues” have actually produced enough attention to bring in advertising dollars. ESPN’s Body Issue was a stunning example of this; as a result, they have confirmed a 2010 edition. As for newspapers, murmurs of a pay wall have been heard around the New York Times. Mister Murdoch recently spoke of his intent to lay down the law and block all online content from Google.

So what does the future hold? Nothing but online? Really?! There’s just something so cozy about print’s tangibility. It’s like opening a present that someone took great care in wrapping. Websites that cough up previously published, well-written work have one major advantage—they don’t really have production costs. And talk ain’t cheap.

I mean newspapers, c’mon people. As long as people sport unsightly morning attire there should be reason to strut down a driveway. And what will people use to train their puppies with? How will children get messy without ruining the floor? I guess there are puppy pads and video games. Geez, no one gets messy anymore. And yet here we (I guess they) are in quite a mess. I’m very perturbed and I knew I should have saved all those magazines I reluctantly throw into the recycling bin every year…or two.

I implore you, pick up a magazine. Not someone else’s–your own. Circulation stimulation people!