Print Is Not Dead

We tend to lump all industries who rely on print in the same (soon-to-be-extinct) boat as the newspaper industry.

Those who have been playing along at home know that we’re not quite ready to order the tombstone on newspapers (or the print industry), but the world is shifting, moving and changing at a rapid pace. Don’t believe me? Check out the upcoming digital edition of Wired Magazine (Is This The Future Of Publishing?). Along with that, Samir Husni (also known as Mr. Magazine), posted this interesting initiative from the magazine industry: YouTube – Magazines – The Power To Print.

Be hopeful. Be cynical.

Everything is "with" not "instead of". It’s stupid to think that Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc… is the reason that the magazine industry feels that it has to defend what it is (along with some interesting stats). I love magazines. I love the content, design, look and feel (and yes, even the advertising), but there is no doubt that the magazine industry is going through tremendous change and flux (even with the great numbers they’re pimping in this video). The opportunity is there for the magazine industry (much like it is/was for the music industry, newspaper industry, film industry, book publishing industry, etc…). The question (as is always the case) is:

Will the magazine industry be able to see these New Media channels as an opportunity to evolve and grow?

(side note: on Samir’s blog post, Start spreading the news: Print is NOT dead…, there was a comment from Jen: "If this story is best told in print, why are they telling it on a YouTube video?")