As Downtown Shuts Down, City Magazines Confront a Crisis

As the COVID-19 pandemic forces marketers to tighten their advertising budgets and organizers to cancel or postpone events, media companies of all sizes are scrambling to account for lost revenue. In cities across the U.S., a virtual suspension of public life is taking a disastrous toll on alt-weeklies—many of which entered 2020 on unstable financial footing—but it's also having an acute impact on the nation's city and regional magazines, who devote much of their pages and resources to guiding readers toward experiences: things to get out and do, see or eat. On Monday alone, Time Out Group announced it was suspending the print editions of each of its roughly 40 city-specific magazines worldwide, while San Diego Magazine laid off nearly its entire staff, apparently shutting down after more than 70 years as a result of the pandemic, reports the Voice of San Diego, though its owner says he hopes to restart operations after the crisis is over. "After this has peaked, there will be plenty to report about if, when and how places are coming back," says Margaret Seiler, managing editor at another city magazine, Portland Monthly. "But those activities that have ground to a halt include a lot of our advertisers, too. So while we're pivoting to more immediate digital coverage and revamping plans for our sure-to-be-delayed next print issue, we're also not sure we'll all still be employed." Mike Schaffer, editor of the D.C.-based monthly Washingtonian, notes that while paid... Continue reading at 'Folio Magazine'

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-03-23 14:46:51 UTC ]
News tagged with: #editorial teams #simple task #google docs #microsoft teams #video calls #mental health #moving forward #digital publishing

Other news stories related to: "As Downtown Shuts Down, City Magazines Confront a Crisis"


Russian Government Targets $100m at Book Industry in Crisis

With 20% of Russia's bookstores having closed and book sales in free fall, the government is investing $100m to promote reading and change in the industry. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #promote reading #free fall #book sales #book industry


SkyDrive, Complex team up for digital magazine distribution

Microsoft’s SkyDrive will host the latest digital issue of Complex magazine, in what might be an effective cost-saving solution for niche publications. Microsoft representatives also indicated that a similar partnership would be revealed on Thursday, with more of a pop-culture bent. The Complex... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cut costs #digital edition #print versions


Newsweek 2.0: A New Model For Online Magazines

Designed by Huge, the revamped, digital-only Newsweek aims to bring print mag qualities like cohesion and curation to the web. When it was announced last fall that Newsweek, after nearly 80 years as a weekly news magazine, would ditch print and go all digital, it seemed to many like an ill... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #relevant stories #ve managed


Condé Nast scraps Easy Living magazine after eight years

Condé Nast's is closing its Easy Living print edition, despite being the only paid-for glossy magazine from a major publisher to increase its circulation in the last six months of 2012. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2013-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #major publisher #glossy magazine


Hearst Magazines appoints president of digital media

Hearst Magazines has created the position of president of digital media and appointed Troy Young from Say Media to the role. Continue reading at Media Week

[ Media Week | 2013-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hearst magazines


SpinMedia buys Vibe magazine and websites

SpinMedia has bought Vibe in a deal that could prove to be the end of the print edition of the famed hip-hop culture magazine.Vibe magazine was founded in 1993 by legendary producer Quincy Jones. The company has changed hands several times and like many publications, has turned its focus to its... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #advertising revenue #online traffic #print publication #news release #print rights #print products #online business


Freeman to leave Granta magazine

Granta magazine editor John Freeman is leaving the publication after five years, with his final... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Skateboarder Magazine Goes Digital-First

Skateboarder Magazine isn't abandoning print altogether, but--not surprisingly for a young, male enthusiast title--it's going to concentrate a lot more on digital from now on. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Web sparks print comeback for magazines

Only newspapers have been given up for dead more often than magazines. But though their print cousins continue to lose advertising at a brisk clip, some magazine publishers are trumpeting a turnaround few could have foreseen in the dark days of 2008 and 2009, when nearly 1,000 titles shut... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #primary source #mobile devices #public company #biggest publisher #amid uncertainty


Discover A Foreign City Through Its Fiction Via New Gimbal App

The new Gimbal app, launching Tuesday at the London Book Fair, features translated short stories for commuters that allows you to explore a city through fiction. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


MPA Is Getting Closer to Digital Magazine Ad Standards

Magazine publishers have found new fans for their content on tablets and e-readers, but will they ever be able to get advertisers to give them the same commitment? In the three years since consumers got their hands on Apple’s first iPads, magazines have been preparing their content for the new... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital ad #brenda white #tablet editions #business model


Online and in print, magazine launches tumble

Only 23 magazines launched in the first quarter of 2013, compared with 44 in the same period a year ago, but the number of titles that shut down between Jan. 1 and the end of March also dropped, according to figures released Monday by online database MediaFinder.com.The new titles include Condé... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #magazine called #positive note #publishing division


At the Intersection of Hyper-Local Digital and Regional Magazine Publishers

Imagine having more than 20 competitors spring up into your market over the course of the last two years. Now picture these competitors being backed by one of the largest digital media institutions on the continent. Welcome to the new city and regional magazine market. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Zinio magazine app heads to Windows Phone 8 as a Lumia exclusive

Zinio's magazine app for tablets and smartphones has already found its way onto quite a few platforms (even some now-defunct ones), and it looks like it'll soon be heading to yet another -- at least partially. The company announced today that its Windows Phone 8 app will be available in the... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #make reading #multiple sources #windows phone


“Time” Magazine Cover Commemorates One Kind of Gay Marriage Victory

While the fate of gay married couples in America hangs in the balance awaiting a pair of Supreme Court decisions, Time's latest cover insists a bigger decision has already been made. As the Supreme Court hears arguments in landmark marriage-equality cases, many around the country, including... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #same-sex couples #continued support #gay marriage


With 50 Million Users, Flipboard Opens Magazine Creation To The Masses To Take On Tumblr, Pinterest

Flipboard latest update democratizes content curation on the service, introduces search, and provides integration with Etsy. With 50 million users, Flipboard, the social news magazine available on the iPhone and iPad, has become a dominant player in content curation. Now, with competition in... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fast company #social feeds #dominant player


Nook makes 'free book and magazine offer' to Windows 8 users

On Wednesday, Nook Media -- Barnes & Noble subsidiary -- announced that Windows 8 users can take advantage of a "free book and magazine offer", available for a limited period of time, after installing the Nook app. All that users have to do is download the Nook app -- which is available for... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #includes titles #top magazines #popular books #nook app #limited period


Nook for iOS adds support for high-res iPad magazines, Nook Comics

Barnes & Noble may have saved most of the limelight today for in-app purchasing on Nook hardware, but it's not leaving other platforms by the wayside. Its Nook 3.4 update for iOS focuses heavily on visuals, with new support for both Nook Comics as well as "HD" magazines on Retina... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #app store #in-app purchasing #barnes noble


Mental Floss is Not Just a Magazine Anymore

Specs Who Co-founders William Pearson (l.) and Mangesh Hattikudur What Magazine and e-commerce business Where New York offices Mental Floss is known for its engaging Wikipedia-like articles (“How Many Languages Is It Possible to Learn?”) that nourish the mind. Few realize the Dennis Publishing... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #shooting star #mental floss


For Time Inc., a return to magazine stand-alone status

An era came to an end last week when Time Warner announced it would be spinning off its storied magazine division by the close of the year, leaving the owner of People, InStyle, Fortune, Sports Illustrated and, of course, Time to fend for itself as a publicly traded Time Inc. The announcement... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #—matthew flamm #news leaked #share price #print advertising #publishing powerhouse #public company #television networks