Opened up my new August edition of Model Railroader and came to a full page letter to subscribers from the owner of Firecrown Media, Craig Fuller. Interesting read, and he certainly sounds encouraging - so my fingers are crossed. Time will tell.
What sounds encouraging?
Alton Junction
richhotrain What sounds encouraging?
The other thing in his letter that I found interesting is the statement that younger people are switching back to print media. That would seem to buck the trends that seem to be currently running. But even with that, time will tell.
FRRYKid The other thing in his letter that I found interesting is the statement that younger people are switching back to print media. That would seem to buck the trends that seem to be currently running. But even with that, time will tell.
Contrary to what digital publications would like you to believe, print publications are not doing all that badly. Book sales in paricular are still quite strong, and while magazine sales have dropped by nearly half, the numbers appear to have stabilized in the last few years.
Some things just seem to do better in a physical presentation, and quite a few companies have suffered by forgetting that humans like physical things. Some online retailers (*cough*Amazon*cough*) bet a lot of money thinking that humans would not go back to in-person shopping after 2020.
When I saw the full page announcement, my first thought, after 90 years MRR comes to an end. I was encouraged by the message. Time will tell, but the sale looks like a positive move.
Yes, time will tell. The magazine has shrunk over the years as advertising revenue from the print format has decreased. But, y'know what? I would notice and read the ads in the magazine, while digital ads generally get ignored. With the change in ownership, I've been reluctant to subscribe again and have let my magazine subscription lapse. I don’t subscribe to the digital stuff. I think one of the best things the new owners could do would be to get more advertising to support a thicker magazine.
It has been my fear for several years now that Kalmbach was planning to go all-digital and eliminate the print magazine entirely. It's good to know that it will continue. I'll probably pick up a few copies at my LHS before going with another subscription.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasleyI think one of the best things the new owners could do would be to get more advertising to support a thicker magazine.
You have to realize that one simply can't "get" more advdertising. There is only a certain demand for it. If the demand goes up, then you can add more. But if the demand goes down, you can't simply create more. Besides, look at the number of larger companies that are no longer with us. The smaller, start-ups, may not be in a position to advertise.
You can't pricing either. That may allow some newer clients to come onto the pages of MR but it also lessens the revenue generated by those who are already there.
Advertising is a tough business; just look at the number of daily newspapers that have folded over the years. :(
dlm
Thanks all for getting me curious about how MR continues to thrive in a digital age. Electronic media has its place, but the print magazine still contnues to draw interest from readers.
One reason for sustained interest in print magazines is some experience digital fatigue. This makes sense since some (like myself) do not enjoy reading online. Also, peole still use libraies for checking out books. I do! Time will tell about what happens with MR's print version.
I will also add that based on the media it sounds like they are interested in potentially having a lower profit margin per magazine if it means bigger magazine/more subscribers, that seems to be what they did with the other print magazines the company owns. Will be interesting to see what that means for MR.
I prefer to read a printed magazine but by the time I get it the ads and product announcements are all outdated. I've already seen most of them online and many new products are already sold out. Even some of the feature articles have been available online.
Mark Vinski
danmerkel Advertising is a tough business; just look at the number of daily newspapers that have folded over the years. :(
True, but you can adjust advertising rates to make print media more attractive. There's a cost associated with digital media, too, remember. Each potential advertiser needs to make those decisions for himself.
Yeah, it's sad that the MR magazine must compete against the MR digital presence, but at least there aren't a lot of choices like in news print sources.