The Surprising Secret To Saving Magazines!

The Buggles sang "Video Killed The Radio Star" (which was the first video ever shown on MTV, but I digress...), but these days, the song's message would be modernized to be "The Internet Killed The Magazine Star."  In fact, with the mere act of reading this, you may be putting another nail into the coffin of print publications.

Now as most FOPs know, I dig magazines big-time. I read 'em, rip 'em and enjoy the tactile feel of having them around.  While it's a field that's indeed hurtin', magazines are far from dead.  And according to Landon Jones, the former managing editor of People and Money magazines, one of the components of keeping them around is the element that drives this here blog.

In an article in Brandweek (yet another magazine), Jones says:

"Magazines need to get their mojo back.  New technologies do not erase the enduring strengths of magazines to build brands, tell powerful narratives and define the national conversation. 

"I would get rid of tired, focus-group formulas driving cover design and feature content.  I would work on putting irreverence and Surprise back into magazines.  Haven't we seen enough Top 10 lists?"