In his Editor’s Note, Brian Kelly tells his readers:
“That new logo you see on the cover is not just a cosmetic makeover. It signals a new era for U.S. News. We’re changing the way we think of the magazine, and it’s going to affect you, our valued readers. Among the changes, we’ll be publishing every other week.”
A step bolder than the new logo, for sure; in my view, this is the start of a series of dramatic changes on the look, size and frequency of publication not just for magazines, but newspapers as well. It is all about coming to terms with how different media within a publishing house deliver news and information. Online has the time advantage, and print will exist to provide a more in-depth and analytical type of journalism, with the addition of the kind of “intellectual content” that we have already discussed in this blog. See https://garciamedia.com/blog/articles/the_less_may_be_more_dailies_are_here/
Kelly writes that “It’s clear from talking to our readers and advertisers that the way we deliver information in print has to change in a world where news is updated every minute at websites like our own usnews.com. Indeed, our audience on line is now more than five million people a month—-almost three times that of the magazine.”
After experimenting with double issues, which have proven successful, Kelly says that he and his team have decided to increase the number of double issues to 26, converting to an every-other-week schedule by 2009.
Phrases such as “to explore”, “more depth” and “more details” abound in Kelly’s note to readers of his magazine. They are good guidelines for newspapers to consider as well.
Marshall Matlock, Professor Emeritus, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, who shared this information with me, adds a comment:
“It’s timely and, for me, very telling about the print media and the direction we are surely heading. It’s the direction that seems to be gaining momentum as publications look at their bottom lines and struggle to stay relevant. It’s interesting to note that I received my free copy via the Internet, a practice that seems to be catching on since I get a lot of free magazines that way. Obviously it’s a cost-effective way to distribute thousands if not millions of publications without added costs. In fact it’s inexpensive enough that free copies can be sent to boost one’s circulation, thus improving its worth to advertisers.”
In the future, I envision newspapers which will appear three or four days a week, with a robust Sunday edition. And the mega weeklies are not far beyond, in the style of Die Zeit, of Germany, a product which is part book, part newsmagazine, the ultimate complete Michelin guide to life in the city, with photo galleries a la LIFE or Paris Match magazines. Of course, the mega weekly in print will be a companion piece to a constantly updated online edition.
U.S. News & World Report is a trailblazer. Many newspaper and magazine publishers will be monitoring what happens there. I know I will, too.
FRONT PAGES WE LIKE: Folha de S. Paulo’s front page is a giant navigator to the inside. I remember our excitement creating the style of navigation you see here, where elements can actually “accordion” out of the vertical column, to invade the rest of the page. We see that type of energy’s on today’s front page In this design, our definition of “territory” was altered to include the entire front page, allowing the designers freedom of movement.
SPOTTED WHILE RUNNING TODAY: My iPhone camera came in handy today as I ran through ritzy Country Club Prado avenue, in Miami’s Coral Gables district, and saw the first Obama for President sign rignt in the front yard of one of the beautiful, Spanish-style architecture homes of this tree-lined residential area.
WHERE IS MARIO? In Miami, Florida till early Tuesday.