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March 15, 2010: Tina Brown on writers' compensation
At least Tina Brown (of great renown but currently of the Daily Beast) is candid on the subject of writers' compensation. Like almost everyone she seems to be relying on the magic wand we like to call "new business model":
"So are we building this new sort of subculture, frankly, of impoverished, living in garret writers? Because the fact is that writers can hardly make a living right now because they can't get paid. The same is true of song writers and the same is true of so many other artists today. We're actually relegating great people to not be able to make a living."
So how do we fix it? Charlie asked.
"I think we haven't figured it out," she said. We're in a "volatile moment of absolute realignment" and "it's a painful interim for writers and artists. "They feel absolutely beached."
March 08, 2010: Wooden Horse Observes Opposing Views on Print vs. Digital
Our friends at Wooden Horse Magazine attended a conference recently in San Francisco and heard opposing views on the efficacy of print versus digital:
The American Association of Advertising Agencies' Transformation Conference in San Francisco this week seemed to be the focal point for all kinds of efforts of magazine publishers to publicize magazines.
Head honchos Charles Townsend of Condé Nast, Cathie Black of Hearst, Jack Griffin of Meredith, Ann Moore of Time Inc, and Jann Wenner of Wenner Media on the opening day of the conference jointly announced the launch of "one of the largest print advertising campaigns ever created to promote the vitality of magazines as a medium" with a video.
The first ad is a two-page spread that features an image of swimmer Michael Phelps and a full page essay titled "We surf the Internet, we swim in magazines." "The Internet is exhilarating," the ad copy reads. "Magazines are enveloping. The Internet grabs you. Magazines embrace you. The Internet is fleeting. Magazines are immersive. And both media are growing."
You can watch the video and find a link to the press release at http://bit.ly/d9GrCF.
Print, web, iPad, smartphones - are magazines the same thing in many forms?
It seems that rumours of the death of print publications may be somewhat exaggerated. Magazines Canada reports a similar robust performance from Canadian titles. Now if we could get them to pay enough to live on...
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