Mr. Magazine

July 26, 2006 the headline in MediaPost read: Teen People Folds in Print, Remains Online. The article went on to say, “Time Inc.’s move comes several months after Hachette Filipacchi closed Elle Girl’s print edition in April. Like Teen People, Elle Girl kept its online presence. Both companies have indeed cast a continuing Web presence as a profitable alternative to print publications…” My comment in Erik Sass’s article (click here to read) was, ” The beauty of the Web is it gives magazine publishers the excuse, ‘We’re not killing the thing, we’re staying on the web.’ If people could survive on the Web, don’t you think Playboy would have folded its print edition long ago?” Well today’s headline in Foliomag.com reads, Teen People Can’t Make It Online or In Print. The article went on to say, “the site was not generating enough traffic to keep it going as a standalone.” (click here to read). The site is now folded into People.com, a very successful web site that complements the weekly’s print edition. The problem that I have with publishers folding their print edition and going online only, has nothing to do with the technology, rather with the content. The web is a great place to be, but it is not print and should not replicate the print editions of the magazines. It is not an alternative to print, it is a must-have complementary medium to your print edition. Just think, that if you cannot survive in print, there is no way you are going to be able to survive online alone. If you think you have competition in print, think how much more competition you have on the Web. The problem is not with the technology or the method of delivery, the problem is in having a product that is relevant to the reader whether it is in print or on the Web. It is the content stupid… just keep that in mind the next time you try to convince your readers that the reason you are folding your ink on paper edition to live in the bliss of pixels on the screen. If your readers are not there for a printed copy, I can assure they will not be there for a digital or online copy alone. I don’t mind being proven wrong, just show me the proof… if the proof is in the pixels on the screen only that is, after being published first in print. Now, if you only an online publication from the beginning, well that is a different story for a different day.