Magazines Are a Dying Medium: Do You Agree?

by Heisenberg Posted 2012/08/14 20:00:00

Related Topics: Magazines, Newsweek, Media

324 votes
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	Yes	214 votes	66%
	No	110 votes	34%

NYTIMES.COM reports:
Making a weekly newsmagazine has always been tough, but the root of Newsweek’s continued losses lies in a changing marketplace.

+16

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NOT14U2 2012/08/15 01:15:11

No

+6
some things are better in print

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More polls by Heisenberg

Miss Kris 2012/09/02 20:42:07

Yes

Pretty much.

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Cora 2012/08/17 22:12:38

No

I hope not I still enjoy reading magazines and looking through it.

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DP 2012/08/17 18:57:57

No

Maybe I'm archaic, but I still read them :S

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Cuthbert Allsgood 2012/08/17 18:14:56

Yes

Print magazines are anyway. I do think a few will continue to do well in print. We won't have the glut that we have now because it's so much cheaper to go online. I also think most should be online. It has a much quicker reaction time to events in the world and keeps them relevant for longer. I no longer subscribe to any science magazines because of this. My Playboy subscription will always be in print though. I've been reading it for many years and my father before me. Together we have a collection that goes back to the 1970's. Much more appreciated in print I think.

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Bill G53 ~PWCM~JLA 2012/08/17 10:56:21

Yes

+2
However for many like Newsweek the problem with their declining subscriptions is their left-wing political agenda

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Peewee 2012/08/17 04:39:42

No

+1
Absolutely not! in my NHO anyway. Nothing will replace the feel of paper in your hand, the smell of the ink.... Especially my recipe & farm magazines. P.S...anyone old enough to remember the smell of "mimeograph" documents?

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Michaelene 2012/08/17 03:01:54

Yes

My brother in law's business has been drowning but they still hang in there and I don't know why. When I was studying computer programming during the 90's this was predicted along with all print media, like newspapers and books :(

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JJ 2012/08/17 03:01:08

Yes

I never bought many magazines, I always liked books.

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HelmetGirl 2012/08/16 17:05:33

Yes

So many mags have folded over the years. If your circulation isn't up in the hundreds of thousands or millions, you can't survive because of the rising costs of publishing and postage. Sad really. I love magazines, but the cost is getting out of control. Much cheaper to go digital.

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RachelA7X 2012/08/16 15:58:19

No

Sort of

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Resp 2012/08/16 04:43:45

Yes

Of course. Digital content and digital media is the wave of the future. However there is book printing on demand.

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EdVenture 2012/08/16 02:13:52

Yes

Yes and no. The economy has impacted the industry, there are likely too many choices, internet I'm sure has and is having its affect and generational preference, interest and demand are varied. I 61 years old like the mag and enjoy it much more in hand than on the net. Just like the periodical and diverse contained update as opposed to the research effort. Also, i can discard it or keep it for future ref.

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Haruko.Haruhara 2012/08/16 02:12:00

No

Nah as long as there is an Ebony or Essence mag then there will always be mags.

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Heisenberg 2012/08/16 01:34:34

Yes

Yes, but on the bright side trees are being saved.

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Diana 2012/08/16 00:46:12

Yes

+1
They are way too expensive and it's mostly advertisements.

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JERSEYDUDE 2012/08/16 00:25:21

Yes

unfortunately

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ohsmith ☮ R P ☮ 2012 ☮ 2012/08/16 00:24:24

No

I still love to hold a magazine. I don't like the price of it.

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Adam 2012/08/16 00:08:58

No

+1
The more they find away to translate into a digital medium, the better they will do. They will inevitably change to something far different then the current model. They may not even resemble magazines as we think of them. But they can still be relevant. Ive seen a few article based websites that keep up with the times that have labeled themselves as a, "Magazine". At a certain point, it becomes semantics.

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mae 2012/08/15 23:49:27

Yes

But having clicked yes i need to say I still buy and read several regularly.

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ZenerSix 2012/08/15 23:19:14

No

+1
Specific magazines die all the time but the industry as a whole is thriving just fine. I used to like to read magazines but I stopped after a while because they tend to change for the worst as they become more successful. They get bigger with more ads and junk inserts and the articles become less interesting and informative.

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exhon2009 2012/08/15 22:16:26

Yes

Especially those left wing rags like Newsweak and Slime, (Time), magazine.

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Professor Wizard 2012/08/15 18:33:35 (edited)

No

+1
Diminished.. Yes.. Greatly!

But neither dieing nor dead.

There is still a HUGE section of population that either prefers their media on paper. or can't get it any other way.

Granted - we are probably talking publication number similar to what they were in 1976.. but then, if they were able to be profitable in 1976, why can't they sell the same number of mags today and be as profitable.

Everyone thinks a company should fold if it can't make more money this year, then it did last year.

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Michaelene to Profess... 2012/08/17 03:06:02

The print industry is dying rapidly, even corporate financial statements are going digital. My bro in law's print business survived 57 years, dead in 4.

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BIG BAD JOHN R. 2012/08/15 18:20:47

Yes

People are reading more stuff online these days and when the dinosaur die out the world will change.

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Transquesta 2012/08/15 17:51:34

No

+1
At least not entirely. Some magazines will always fill a niche which electronic versions can't fill.

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Greg 2012/08/15 17:38:24

Yes

At least printed ones. The internet is full of 'zines that no longer print their articles.

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Dickens 2012/08/15 16:57:49

Yes

Hi Art...yeah, I'm afraid they are, and what I'm gonna miss most about that is the pass-around factor, where one person subscribes and we pass it around to 3 or 4 other people, as we do with their subscriptions; four of us buy one subscription each and get to read four different subscriptions. Besides, I can read a magazine lying down, sitting up and about a hundred other different comfort positions...

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TimothyBrianFoley 2012/08/15 16:44:34

Yes

nobody reads thesethings anymore we got online stuff to read

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Diddley Squat 2012/08/15 16:39:39

Yes

Dying is extreme. They won't all vanish. But there certainly will be fewer of them.

I don't like having a bunch of messy paper in my house when I can read stuff online.

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Jean 2012/08/15 16:25:43

Yes

+1
The entire publishing industry is changing - digital publishing is less expensive, more engaging and interactive and easier to use to gain mass distribution than is printed publication. Digital publications can work with razor-thin deadlines and don't have the problems with selling advertising at a discount in order to fill dead space. Digital = more information in less time at lower cost, and that's killing the traditional magazine.

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Ekua 2012/08/15 15:40:04

Yes

Only because reading is a dying activity.

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kar 2012/08/15 15:07:48

No

+1
I still love my magazines, I am sick of staring at a lighted screen for everything. Same for books. I do not need to worry about sand, water, heat or cold when reading either of those.

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ZenerSix to kar 2012/08/15 23:37:41 (edited)

Ya but you can't read books and magazines in the dark and they're so shiny in the light. You need the right amount of light at the right angle and that can sometimes be a real bother. Some kind of glow-in-the-dark or electroluminescent paper would be awesome.

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stevegtexas@aol.com 2012/08/15 14:52:28

No

+1
no, i love magazines.......and they dont shine light into your eyes like the computer does all day.....now they have those glare shields for the monitor though.

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Aleksandr 2012/08/15 13:49:38

No

I don't want it to...........

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Jesferkicks 2012/08/15 12:58:24

Yes

With two of my three long time subscriptions going online only, in printed form definitely yes.

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glen 2012/08/15 12:28:08

No

+1
I don't want to take my computer into the bathroom !! :)

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baxter 2012/08/15 08:57:02

Yes

YES THEY ARE

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Annie~Pro American~Pro Israel 2012/08/15 07:56:47

Yes

+1
So are paper newspapers.

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Nekosarethebest 2012/08/15 07:39:41

Yes

Yahoo took over.

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