TAKEAWAY: As the International Herald Tribune publishes its new Magazine, I am excited to read a piece by Arianna Huffington about the future of journalism. She thinks it is bright. I agree. Reason to celebrate.
For storytellers: celebration time
Cover of inaugural issue of Magazine, published by the International Herald Tribune. Its editor, Serge Schmemann writes: We certainly hope that a year from now, these glossy pages will be aglow with joy and optimism.”
I am always happy when I see that a new publication in print is born. Yesterday, the International Herald Tribune unveiled its year-end mag, called Magazine, presenting quite a roster of famous contributors such as author Paulo Coelho, Twitter founder Evan Williams and, my favorite, blogger Arianna Huffington, of The Huffington Post, whose piece I found to be the most fascinating. Typical of such year-end publications, one of the features included is a photo story charting the most memorable events of 2009—-with the expected shot of the jet that landed on the icy Hudson, and, of course, many famous faces among those who departed this world in 2009, although Patrick Swayze and Farrah Fawcett were not included. Michael Jackson and Sen. Edward Kennedy were.
On the last page of Magazine is a column by an optimistic Arianna Huffington, titled “Journalism Lives”.
She proves that it does, and I agree with her, that we stand on the threshold of a very challenging, “but very exciting future.”
As I have often written in this blog, these are the best of times for storytellers, which includes all of us.
Arianna seems to agree:
“….the state of newspapers is not the same as the state of journalism. As much as I love newspapers—-and fully expect them to survive—-the future of journalism is not dependent on the future of newspapers. In the future, journalism will not only survive, it will thrive.”
Amen, Arianna. It is exactly what I tell editors daily: We are not in the newspaper business, we are in the storytelling business.
As for the future? Here is the highlight of the Arianna Huffington piece:
“….the future is to be found elsewhere. It is a linked economy. It is search engines. It is online advertising. It is citizen journalism and foundation-supported investigative funds. That’s where the future is.”
I agree with you, Arianna, that journalism’s best days lie ahead.
However, it will take editors and publishers who are willing to emphasize content over medium, to study new ways of generating revenue, to incorporate themselves in the midst of the most explosive information revolution ever, and not look back.
The best stories still capture our imagination. Today there are better and more varied ways to tell those stories, and technology will provide us with many more than we could not even dream about right this minute.
Good stuff to think about as we all pause for a few days to celebrate the holidays and, especially, as we raise our glass of bubblies to welcome 2010.
WSJ’s Magazine to publish more often
Cover of WSJ magazine: you will see more of it in 2010
While in a celebratory mood, and with a glass of Veuve Clicquot in hand, let’s proceed to another “feel good” story of the day.
WSJ, the magazine published by The Wall Street Journal, will increase its frequency and circulation starting in March. The glossy mag, which first appeared in September 2008, will boost its U.S. circulation to about 1.5 million from 800,000 and publish six times a year, up from four.
The magazine will maintain its 160,000 circulation outside of the U.S. Starting next year, the magazine will also be made available to all U.S. subscribers and newsstands.
After the March edition, the magazine will come out in May, June, September, October and December.
A win win situation for both advertisers and readers—-and for owner News Corp, of course.
TheMarioBlog post #442