What if we were wrong about print? Three success stories bucking the trend
Stylist, Mundial and Business Matters are three growing media brands which suggest maybe print isn't quite so doomed after all
Welcome to this week’s Press Gazette Future of Media newsletter.
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Press Gazette has been as gung-ho as anyone when it comes to embracing journalism's digital future.
But what if print is more important than we thought?
It sounds like the ultimate heresy. But the likes of Vice News, Buzzfeed News, Quartz and even Business Insider have gone from poster to problem children of the media in a relative blink of an eye. Are brands which embrace multi-platform publishing, but which have print foundations, more durable?
To counter some of the recent industry gloom Press Gazette today brings you news of three media success stories that all have print foundations.
Women's interest magazine Stylist is the sole survivor of an era in the early 2010s when London was awash with free print newsbrands.
Today, Stylist’s print edition still lives, albeit in monthly form. It also has 10,000 subscribers, a roster of successful events and an editorial team of 25.
That print footprint has provided the brand with an anchor. I think it also helps that Stylist has always felt like a title that gives a shit.
Our second publishing success story is Mundial, a quarterly football magazine which is part of a new crop of really high-quality, slightly artsy coffee-table style magazines. The circulation is relatively modest, around 10,000 copies, but the possibilities for brand extensions are endless - from trainers to live events. And it is also building up a paid-for website.
Our final feel-good case study, Capital Business Media, proves that, as the Americans say, the riches are in the niches. It has invested heavily in SEO and proved that there are winners as well as losers amid big changes to the way Google indexes websites in recent years.
Founder Richard Alvin explained how his network of specialist websites and magazines has doubled revenue over the last two years with more launches coming all the time.
And at the heart of Capital Business Media is a monthly magazine with a paid circulation of 50,000.
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On Press Gazette
Staying true to ‘core cause’ has helped Stylist survive bonfire of the free mags
Editor in chief Lisa Smosarski says free magazine now has 10,000 digital subscribers.
From Discord to Puma Kings: How football brand Mundial is connecting with readers
Print and passion are the core football title Mundial - and it is paying off.
Investment in SEO pays off as Capital Business Media doubles revenue
Founder Richard Alvin explains how specialist publisher is funding rapid expansion.
Also in Press Gazette:
Google ‘handling stolen goods’ with Youtube theft of paywalled news articles
Why Business Insider is axing 100-plus staff and who is leaving
Former editor switches from local news to lifestyle with launch of 14 titles
Latest podcast: Death of the website, the never-ending pivot to video and why Dom loves Substack
'The death of the website' was the name of one panel session at a recent publishing industry conference. Press Gazette editor in chief Dominic Ponsford and UK editor Charlotte Tobitt discuss the latest challenges posed to publishers by Google changes and the rise of social media. They also analyse the latest publisher pivot to video (more of a never-ending pirouette) and Dominic explains why he has become an unpaid brand ambassador for Substack.
Feel free to tell me "Get a paid subscription then" – which I'm pondering – but reacting to the free newsletter I'm asking, could you do more about journalists' pay? I mean, not just news reports on nmegotiations and, sometimes, strikes, but the issue of how pay plays into the whole future of journalism ie can I make a living long-term, as in including bringing up children, on the salaries or freelance fees now available in different aspects of the biz. Clearly one of the pillars of the "Future Of Media" is the viability of professional journalism so… more! Or, indeed, "Put your money where your moputh is and buy a sub" if you're covering my theme and I'm being too mean to see it! Fraternals, Phil Sutcliffe