Mr. Magazine

Mr. Magazine™ says save the date: April 25-27, 2017

As we await spring and the month of April, we at the Magazine Innovation Center also await the exciting ACT 7 Experience, and 2017’s promises to be the most dynamic one yet. We’ve streamlined the number of speakers to enhance the actual experience in terms of the discussions that are going to take place. Our goal is to come up with solutions as the ACT Experiences are think-and-dos, not merely conferences where one comes to idly listen. ACT lives up to its acronym – Amplify – Clarify – Testify the power of print, and that’s just what we do as problems are met head-on and solutions are sought by brainstorming among some of the finest minds in publishing, printing and distribution.

The speakers, attendees and students alike are free to speak their minds and bounce ideas off of each other; it’s a thrilling time for everyone as boundaries are crossed when present leaders and future leaders of publishing meet at the Overby Center at the Meek School of Journalism and New Media on the campus of the University of Mississippi, where the Magazine Innovation Center resides. The Experience is divided into three main mini themes this year:

• Celebration of Magazine Launches (everything you need to know to launch a magazine)

• Magazine Reach and Power (the changing and evolving role of advertising and marketing in the magazine and magazine media world)

• Magazine Distribution 2020 (the future of the newsstands, direct mail, subscriptions, free distribution, public placement, and every other thing that has to do with distribution)

Anyone interested in learning about magazine launches should make it a point to be here. We will have panels with panelists and speakers who are going to celebrate their new magazine launches by telling us the story of the launch; the positives and the negatives and the impact of the publication. And we will also have a section for people who want to start a magazine. We will have panels on printing, production, paper; anything related to the print process. During this segment I will take the audience through a memory lane trip showing some amazing magazine launches throughout history. It will be an exhilarating

What follows are testimonials from three speakers from last year’s ACT 6 Experience:

Joe Berger of Joseph Berger Associates of Chicago, Newsstand Sales, Digital and Print Circulation had this to say about the ACT 6 Experience: During the ACT conference, we heard from several publishers who are doing well on the newsstand precisely because they are paying attention to their business. It’s my hope that the discussions that were started at this year’s ACT conference continue. The alternative is a continued drift. At a certain point, we need to stop the drift and chart a new course. That point really is now.

John Harrington partner in Harrington Associates, LLC, which published The New Single Copy and the annual Magazine Retail Sales Experience; he had this to say about ACT 6: In late April, I attended the ACT 6 Conference, sponsored by the Magazine Innovation Center at the journalism school of the University of Mississippi. Samir Husni is the director of MIC. I have attended and spoke at each of these programs and as I have stated often have found them among the most significant and valuable publishing gatherings I have ever participated in, and believe me over nearly 40 years there have been a bunch of them. The unique quality of the ACT conferences is the participation of the students, undergraduate and graduate. Samir has turned the school into a pipeline of talented people into the magazine media world.

Tony Silber, Vice President, Folio: had this to say about ACT 6: The ACT conference is a different kind of event. It’s small. Only perhaps 100-130 people attend, give or take. Since it’s held at a university, the students also attend. Sometimes Samir pairs them with industry figures, mentee to mentor. It’s way off the beaten path for the media industry. That’s part of its charm. It’s a different perspective for sometimes-jaded media people. Because of his (Samir Husni) advocacy, plus his unrelenting determination to make his case and push his cause, plus his 30-year run of cataloging all the print-magazine launches of the year—and selecting the most important 30 of them—Samir is as well-known and respected as anyone in the business. Now, for the last several years, he’s added a worthwhile media conference to his portfolio—one with a decided point of view.

An added bonus is one evening of the Experience will be spent in the inimitable Mississippi Delta, where we will sample the rich musical and palate-pleasing heritage that is the magical Mississippi Delta. And of course, have a lot of fun in the process.

To all of my fellow magazine enthusiasts; to all the magazine makers; to all the lovers of the printed word and those passionate about this art form called magazine making; we at the Magazine Innovation Center invite you to join us April 25-27, 2017 for an “Experience” into the world of magazines and magazine making unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.

So, if you suddenly feel an urge to head south – “ACT” on it!! The cost to register this year is only $395 that covers the registration to all the events of ACT 7 including the opening gala Tuesday dinner, breakfast, lunch, the trip to the Mississippi Delta and dinner on Wednesday, and breakfast and closing gala lunch on Thursday.

To register for the ACT 7 Experience click here. Note that space is limited to 100 registrants.