WHAT 2009 HOLDS FOR THE MAG INDUSTRY

The Guardian did a series of analyses of media industries looking at the likely outcomes for 2009. In this article they predicted:

• larger publishers (there's none bigger than Bauer in the UK) will be relatively fine; its the Indies, without opportunities for cross-subsidy (profit-making titles supporting loss-makers), that will struggle to survive
• advertising income will slump BUT perhaps not so much for the glossies - part of the mystique of high-end brands comes with their use of prominent ad campaigns in glossy mags; if they stop advertising in these they risk losing out to rivals [however: rem the example of Vogue: the largest pagination for any magazine ever in 2008, but a huge fall in this by 2009]
• niche titles will be okay: advertisers simply won't have much option but to continue to target these titles
• mass- and mid-market titles will suffer more as here advertisers have much greater choice
• B2B (business-to-business) titles will suffer (note that Bauer focusses on consumer magazines, not B2B). Reed-Elsevier was forced to abandon the attempted sale of its B2B wing, finding no takers [DB: even the media can't sustain their own publication: The Press Gazette has been shut down]

The recession is forcing all publishers to look again at the possibilities for making online content pay - but this remains an issue they haven't resolved. While The Financial Times has successfully operated fees for its online content - and The Sunday Times is about to try the same - magazines, with competition from e-zines too lets not forget - haven't been able to make this work. Yet...

VARIOUS HANDOUTS & RESOURCES

I've uploaded a range of materials at http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/12634228/1l686p0d89xhb6sw61bq
There's more specifically on Bauer at http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/12634332/nggqefmk05qvodsjfy3
A range of PPA reports and more at http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/12634381/bbq7i7b7njvb8dkq42a
Two essays (slightly old, but still useful if you're preparing a comparison of a men's and a women's mag) on men's mags at http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/12634482/1pfnp0zwony6rkpt0x3o
These docs are on Representation generally, with some focus on women's mags: http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/12634560/175ohnqtga82ybaji4se
Media Language docs at http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/12634626/522643f3v6746f3yjym

BAUER IN TODAY'S MEDIA GUARDIAN - discusses/compares methods of distribution + monetizing

One of the cover stories of today's Media Guardian centres on Bauer magazines. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/08/the-face-magazine-press ("If the Face fits, wear it" by Stephen Armstrong, 8.6.08 in Media Guardian)
The Face is an iconic magazine published from 1980-2004 by EMAP (see Wiki); this could mark a reversal of Bauer's strategy of closing or 'suspending' various under-performing EMAP titles they acquired in their 2008 buy-out.
Armstrong discusses the pros/cons of various methods of distribution/monetizing the publication:

• ONLINE-ONLY - seen as the likeliest route; will fit with the mag's zeitgeisty, up-to-the-moment brand. PlayStation's PR agency argue "These days, youth culture is all online and all immediate. The Face is still a huge brand name, even globally, so it could become an authoritative site on what's cool in the UK." Style mags with limited online offerings are struggling (The mag I.D. - by Indie publisher F+W - is reducing its publication frequency to 6 times a year; it has 'a very basic site with video clips from photo shoots and a back catalogue for sale.' Contrastingly, 'Vice magazine, which launched in Canada 15 years ago and now distributes 1m copies worldwide, is flourishing, mainly on the strength of its website [which is blocked by web filter in school!]. "Our broadband TV service, VBS, reaches around 4 million people a month - which took us 18 months to grow rather than 15 years for the magazine," says Matt Elek, the title's European publisher. "In Europe and North America we expect our digital revenues to overtake our print revenues this year."' [see Independent article on Vice's success]
• ONLINE-ONLY CAN'T COMPETE WITH GLOSSIES? - '"It's not the case that no online advertising works for the rich and stylish," says Margaret Johnson, the chief executive of Patek Philippe's agency, Leagas Delaney. "But glossy print advertising is still the way they expect to be advertised to. You really can't see the sumptuous detail if you're looking at it in a pop-up."'
  
• FREE OR SUBSCRIPTION-ONLY - free mags risk being seen as downmarket and its hard to control the readership to match up with the audience advertisers want; subs-only mags struggle to publicise themselves: '"How do you maintain the cachet if you give it away for free?" asks one former editor. "Dazed, Vice, etc would murder it. Like Shortlist, it would be read by Polish cleaning ladies on the way home from the 4am shift. The subs [subscription] issue is equally tricky. How do you sell the subs? Who wants it? Or is it controlled subs - free to trendy shops - in which case it has no editorial teeth and no budget."'

The points above cover 3 of the 4 Key Concepts: Forms & Conventions; Audience; Institution

Covers + Content Pgs

Here's 25 covers/contents pages of Bauer titles from May/June: http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/12525809/1j52gf80rljp7v3wrisk
Zoo images to follow

Meeja Guardian

Following the revision class on Tues 2nd June I'll start posting materials here. For a starter, though, do be using the Media Guardian online, especially http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/bauer and http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/consumer-magazines

Some recent articles of note:

Bauer Media to cut 30 more jobs ' - Bauer is clearly feeling the heat from the ongoing recession: following the axing of Arena and several other titles since its takeover of Emap 18 months ago, its had to instigate two rounds of redundancies, starting with 15 jobs within its radio operations (now moved outside London to cut costs) but now taking a further 30 across its magazine wing.

'Hello! moves to Mondays with help of the Mail' - Bauer's celebrity titles like Heat have to compete with OK!, which has the considerable backing of Northern & Shell, owners of the Express/Star newspapers. Now Hello is linking up with Associated Newspapers, owner of the Mail titles, in a new distribution and co-promotion deal - enabling it to publish on a Monday, a day before any of its rivals (wholesalers traditionally shut at 10am on Sundays, but have been persuaded to stay open longer for this new deal). --So, the move towards greater frequency of publishing is now intensifying further, with a new battleline over how early in the week celeb titles are published.Trinity Mirror terminates £65m-a-year Dawson Holdings contract' - One of the UK's major magazine distributors is facing closure after a series of publishers pulled their contracts with Dawsons - including 'Frontline, the joint venture between Bauer Media, Haymarket Publishing and BBC Magazines, worth £83m'

' Colin Kennedy appointed FHM editor' - mens mag market leader appointed the former Empire editor to FHM; CK famously edited an edition of Empire featuring a cover mask of Darth Vader - when opened, readers were treated to the familiar breathing sound of Vader! He oversaw a period of continuous growth for Empire. 'FHM sells more copies than GQ and Loaded combined, but Kennedy will need all his skills to arrest falling sales in the declining men's market, in which Arena and Maxim have closed this year. // The magazine's sales fell 13.5% from 315,149 in the second half of 2007 to 272,545 in the final six months of 2008. // FHM's lead over fitness magazine Men's Health is more than 22,000 copies a month, down from about 75,000 in the second half of 2007. // The magazine has been moving upmarket in recent years as the lads' magazine market crashes, highlighted by the closure of Maxim UK earlier this year.'