The Print Media Rebound: What it Means for PR

 

Print media are supposed to be on their deathbed, succumbing to the overwhelming popularity of digital publications. 

The imminent death of print publications is highly exaggerated. In fact, print is enjoying a rebound, as demonstrated by growing numbers of new print magazines. That’s important for PR to keep in mind when building media lists and pitching publications.

More than a few media experts praise the benefits of print magazines and predict they will continue to survive – and maybe even thrive.

“Print is beautiful. It can’t notify you when a work email arrives, can’t be tweeted mid-sentence, and won’t die without a charger,” opines Chava Gourarie in the Columbia Journalism Review. “Even better, it’s finite.”

In an interesting reversal, successful digital publications, including Tablet, Politico and The Pitchfork Review, have introduced print versions.

“Some of our best content deserves to be on the newsstand or on someone’s coffee table for a while,” stated Mark Oppenheimer, Tablet’s editor at large, according to the CJR.

Tablet, which says its audience consists of curious Jews, has a website attracting about 1.5 million readers a month. Its first edition in November had a print run of 15,000.

Print is the Faithful Spouse

Samir Husni, University of Mississippi professor and media consultant known as Mr. Magazine, counted 204 new print magazines that launched in 2015. Magazines that abandoned print for digital now regret their decision, he told CJR. “Print is the faithful spouse,” he said. Ninety-five percent of the money is in print.”

Digital and print versions can coexist and complement each other. Digital media helps publishers launch print magazines by finding and reaching new audiences, Ruth Jamieson, a UK-based journalist and author of “Print is Dead. Long Live Print,” told CJR.

Digital buffs maintain the trend back to print media is mainly nostalgia. But print fans say people love to curl up with a good magazine. A specialized magazine may not be for everyone, only for people with certain interest. That gives readers a sense of community, a feeling that they belong to “a tribe.”

That targeted audience is all the more reason for PR professionals to continue to seek placements in print magazines.

What about Newspapers?

The sector enjoying a rebound is generally limited to glossy, luxury-focused magazines. Newspapers, which compete against the Web’s timeliness, continue to struggle.

However, recent high profile investments indicate that print – including newspapers — is far from dead, points out Sundeep Khanna is executive editor at Livemint.com. Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox announced it was buying a 73% stake in National Geographic’s media properties. Nikkei group purchased the Financial Times for $1.3 billion, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos paid $259 million for The Washington Post and its other products. In addition, Warren Buffett has invested in local newspapers.

According to readership data from Nielsen Scarborough’s 2014 Newspaper Penetration Report, 56% of those who consume a newspaper read it exclusively in print. Even most people reading newspapers online read their print versions at least sometimes.

Smart investors may be taking advantage of newspapers’ low valuations, Khanna theorizes. Creating a top digital publication from scratch is challenging. Print newspapers, which already have established brands, have an easier path to creating successful news websites.

Bottom Line: A large number of new magazines proves that print remains an important route to reach target audiences. Despite widespread proclamations about the death of print, PR professionals would be foolish to ignore print publications when developing their media lists for story placements.