e-Reader Magazines Ahead
Magazine publishers are prepping for tiny formats. A lack of good e-readers for magazines isn't stopping them. They are trying to stay one step ahead by readying small format digital versions of their offerings. A digital newsstand just for magazines is coming out in a few weeks, according to MediaWeek.com's e-Reader Mania Hits Magazine Publishing:
I've read New York Times' stories on a friend's iPhone. It was surprisingly easy on the eyes, but what I'm wondering is how this will affect writers and editors? Are publishers just going to pour the digitized copy into the applications or will writers need to learn a new, more concise method of preparing stories. Or will editors regain their positions of actually working with words? Will this revolution create more employment or continue the trend of consolidation and layoffs?
Just when we're anguishing over languishing magazines, hope pokes over the horizon.
Condé Nast last week showed off what an imagined e-reader version of its glossies would look like, starting with Wired. And Time Inc. is developing e-reader versions of such titles as Time and Sports Illustrated; it’s expected to introduce those iterations early next year.The article mentions other upcoming editorial products that will soon arrive on small media readers, such as the iPhone.
I've read New York Times' stories on a friend's iPhone. It was surprisingly easy on the eyes, but what I'm wondering is how this will affect writers and editors? Are publishers just going to pour the digitized copy into the applications or will writers need to learn a new, more concise method of preparing stories. Or will editors regain their positions of actually working with words? Will this revolution create more employment or continue the trend of consolidation and layoffs?
Just when we're anguishing over languishing magazines, hope pokes over the horizon.
Labels: business, editing, jobs, magazine, writers, writing
posted by Georganna Hancock M.S. | 8:39 AM
4 Comments:
Oh, this worries me. See, I'm a hard copy kind of gal. I like the thought of shelves and shelves of books. I can't adapt to the notion of a drawer full of flash drives or 20 books in one inch of space. I need to smell pages and see how close to the end I am.
Happily, my youngest had received a reader like this for her birthday and returned it. She said she'd rather hold an actual book.
Amen!
Hi Lori,
I love treebooks, too, but I also know the burden of trying to stuff a magazine into a too-small purse or a jeans pocket! More disposable media creates problems in the office and home, too. We can't keep everything! We also can't subscribe to everything we'd like to write for.
Just think, with an eReader, how easily we could research the six previous issues of a new magazine we are thinking of pitching -- especially if they were not available from our libraries or online.
Periodicals in electronic format makes a lot of sense to me. Even the experiences of touching, holding, smelling and reading magazines differs so much from book sensations. I don't think I'll miss the stacks of papers piling up on every surface.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting on this post!
I'm just trying to keep up with the ever changing world.
Keeping current is a full time gig!
Hi, Guy! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. What kind of writing are you engaged in -- or are you only a reader?
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