As some of you know, Primedia sold off it's car magazines to a company called Source Interlink. As far as I can tell from my limited research, Source is a distribution company. Basically they get products like CD's, DVD's, and magazines to the stores you buy them at. I even read that they make and assemble the displays (magazine racks, and CD bins) that hold the products. So I guess it seems logical for them to want to own some of the magazines they make the shelves for, right?
While surfing some Wall Street analysis sites last week, I read an editorial by a guy who was critical of Source for investing in print media. It was basically the doom and gloom stuff I've been hearing since I was in my photojournalism program in college: print media is a dying industry. His contention was that if Source is looking to broaden its horizons, they should be investing in or developing new media (i.e.- electronic) projects.
I've though about this a lot since deciding to pursue a career in print media- Am I in a dying profession? I was a photographer at a newspaper for a while right out of college, and I know first hand that newspapers are in real trouble. Many small papers are going out of business, while the larger ones are scrambling to ramp up their online presence. That's understandable because more people are getting their news from online sources and cable TV.
Where does that leave us, though? Are specialty publications like car magazines different, or are people looking to the internet for their "car news", too? I think we are different. I've been subscribing to car magazines since I was 10 years old. There's something special about getting your magazine(s) in the mail every month- the anticipation before it arrives, and the satisfaction of reading it when it finally does. You'd lose all this with the online stuff. Also, there's permanence with the printed page. I used to save all my magazines. I still love to look back at my favorite articles and car features years later. I know, I'm not the only one who does this. Everywhere I've gone, I've met people who tell me "I've subscribed to Car Craft for XX years and I saved every one". Now, the entire history of Car Craft is sitting in our archives right outside my office door. I could (and have) spend days looking at those old issues.
In the last couple of years I've seen a few online car magazines pop up. Some of them, like Winding Road, ( www.windingroad.com ) are structured like a magazine- you click to turn the pages on screen as you read. It's nice stuff, but lacks the permanence I was referring to before. It also lacks portability. You can read a car magazine anywhere. You can read online stuff anywhere you can bring your computer. Until the batteries run out.
I'm not refuting that printed-media car magazines are on their way out. Nothing is permanent, and technology is advancing rapidly. Maybe someday we'll all be reading the new issue of CC on our phones!! The question is- do you want to?
What do you think?
-John