They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.

Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987), The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

 

 

Ladies' Home Journal Lets Readers Write the Magazine

Venerable Publication's Bid to Attract Younger Audience May Cause Ripple Effect Among Mass Titles

By: Nat Ives

http://adage.com/article/mediaworks/ladies-home-journal-lets-readers-write-magazine/231966/

 

Crowdsourcing has been common in advertising for some time, but in a highly unusual move, it's now vaulting the wall at the venerable Ladies' Home Journal, which is planning to turn over many of the pages in its 128-year-old publication to work written by readers.

 

Starting with the March issue, LHJ editors will cull much of the magazine's material from posts on DivineCaroline.com, a sibling at Meredith Corp. that lets consumers upload their own stories, as well as from the magazine's website, its Facebook page and other digital channels.

 

The magazine will still use fact-checkers and include experts in fields such as medicine and beauty, but it will start with consumers where it can. "We really flipped this model," said Editor-in-Chief Sally Lee. "Usually content creation begins with an editor. We have content creation that begins with a reader."

 

While other publishers have dabbled in the practice, its adoption by Ladies' Home Journal, a title that guarantees advertisers an average paid circulation of 3.2 million, is significant since it is the largest traditional media brand to commit to so much user-generated content on an ongoing basis. If it's successful, other mass-circulation titles may follow. "I've been asked a lot about whether we foresee this becoming a model that other magazines will start to implement," said Diane Malloy, publisher of Ladies' Home Journal. "My answer is, 'Gosh, yes, I think everyone is going to sit up and take notice.'"

 

The magazine says the changes were driven by research revealing that readers wanted a greater role in filling its pages. But the move could also help LHJ, which competes in the very mature category of women's service, improve its traction with advertisers.

 

An accompanying revamp by design firm Pentagram will signal the shift and include a new Ladies' Home Journal logo that shrinks "Home" to small type and overwhelmingly emphasizes "Journal."

 

Unlike the Huffington Post, where many bloggers post without pay, Ladies' Home Journal won't tell its amateur writers to settle for the exposure. "We are going to pay them our professional rates," Ms. Lee said.

 

The magazine wants to build a community of readers engaging with one another and with editors, but the idea predates the current notions of user-generated content and constant conversations with consumers.

 

The editor of McCall's, for example, told The New York Times in 1990 that the magazine's coming redesign would address a tendency to talk down to readers.

 

"Among the changes in the magazine, she said, McCall's traditional 'The Mother's Page' will no longer be written by professionals but by readers talking about mutual problems," the Times reported then.

 

The median age of Ladies' Home Journal readers has declined slightly, to 55.8 from 56.1, according to the most recent round of research by GfK MRI. But its readers remain much older than the U.S. population as a whole (GfK MRI puts the median age at 45.8), and somewhat older than readers of magazines such as Good Housekeeping, Redbook and Woman's Day. So LHJ is trying to make itself "relevant to the next generation without annoying some of the core readers," said George Janson, managing partner and director of print at Group M, the media-buying and -planning conglomerate.

 

Ad pages fell 13.6% at Ladies' Home Journal last year but slipped just 2.6% in monthlies as a whole, according to data compiled by the Media Industry Newsletter. A major downturn in food advertising that undermined the mass-market women's service books was partly to blame.

 

 

"I commend them for trying to add new life into a very mature magazine that has been around for a very long time," Mr. Janson said. "The redesign seems to be very clean, much bolder and much more energetic in terms of the visuals. The photography is pretty stunning. And I think it's a novel concept."

 

How the effort plays out over time remains to be seen. User-generated content is certainly no magic bullet: San Francisco startup 8020 Publishing introduced two magazines several years ago filled with consumer content that was first posted to the web and voted up or down by the public. The magazines -- a photography title called JPG and a travel magazine called Everywhere -- both left print during the worst of the recession, although JPG now prints individual copies to order for $14 to $19 through HP's MagCloud service.

 

And there are plenty of questions to answer. Mitch Fox, the magazine veteran who ran 8020 Publishing for a time, argues that readers will remain outsiders, not a community, unless they also have a say in choosing which submissions get to be in print. "You're still screening the content without any kind of community involvement," said Mr. Fox, now president at WGA Global Marketing. "It's a half-step."

 

Ms. Malloy, who was named publisher in October after her predecessor moved to Univision, said the magazine's big audience gave it an advantage over startups, like 8020, that try similar strategies.

 

"We feel very, very confident that the consumer is going to receive the new product well," Ms. Malloy said.

 

 

BoSacks Speaks Out: I find this a very interesting play by Jack Griffin.  It is intriguing on many levels. 

 

Time Inc, Meredith Veteran Eyes Newspapers  

Press Herald gets 'significant new' investment

By Matt Wickenheiser, BDN Staff

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/01/06/business/press-herald-gets-significant-new-investment/

 

PORTLAND, Maine - MaineToday Media Inc., the company that owns newspapers including the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, announced Friday it had secured "significant new capital" from a new group of investors led by a former Press Herald executive.

 

Chris Harte, who was president of the Portland Press Herald from 1992 to 1994, is part of the investment team 2100 Trust, according to a release put out Friday afternoon by MaineToday Media.

 

According to the release, the 2100 Trust, led by founder Aaron Kushner, Harte and media executive Jack Griffin, "has spent a year assembling a group of New England-based investors and media executives who understand the critical role newspapers play in our community and are committed to re-invigorating them with fresh ideas, capital and disciplined management."

 

Harte declined Friday to discuss how much investment the 2100 Trust would be making in MaineToday Media.

 

Harte was chairman and then publisher of the Star Tribune from 2007 to 2009 and previously had been a top executive at other Knight-Ridder papers. He left the Star Tribune as it was emerging from bankruptcy protection, according to media reports.

 

Kushner, of Wellesley, Mass., is an entrepreneur who for the last year or so has been trying to put together a team to buy the Boston Globe.

 

Griffin, president and founder of Empirical Strategic Advisors, was recently CEO of Time Inc., the nation's largest magazine company. Griffin was CEO for less than half a year before being ousted by Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes about a year ago, according to media reports. Previously, Griffin held executive roles at Meredith, Advance Publications and The New York Times Co.

 

Harte said Friday the MaineToday Media company "presents many opportunities to reach the residents of Maine."

 

"We are acutely aware of the history and impact these newspapers have had on their communities and our most important job will be meeting the high bar that has been set. Our goal is to invest and grow this business by delivering professional, trusted news to Maine people," Harte said.

 

Harte told the Bangor Daily News that the investment team was working to close the deal, and had no immediate planned changes for the media company's operations.

 

"We have a lot of ideas about how we can continue the process that's been going on for years, trying in tough times to make sure the paper stays important for all of these communities," said Harte.

 

Harte said he would not be taking over as CEO. He did say the team had a "great publisher" ready to lead MaineToday Media, to be announced when the final deal is signed.

 

"He will be fantastic," said Harte.

 

According to the release, the agreement calls for both parties to complete and sign a deal as quickly as possible. Upon closing the transaction, the release said, the 2100 Trust would operate MaineToday Media's properties with a team made up of current management and other experienced media industry professionals.

 

MaineToday Media has undergone serious cuts and changes in top management in recent months. In October, the Press Herald underwent a round of layoffs, both voluntary and involuntary, that resulted in 61 job losses.

 

Later that same month, it was announced that Richard L. Connor, who bought the paper along with other investors in 2009, was stepping down from his position. At the time, a source who asked not to be identified told the Bangor Daily News that Connor's resignation came amidst increasing disagreement between him and the company's board of directors over the direction of MaineToday Media.

 

Peter Brodsky, chairman of MaineToday Media's board, said Friday that Connor no longer was involved in management of the board. Asked if Connor still had an investment stake, Brodsky declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of the shareholders.

 

In November 2011, a North Carolina paper company filed a lawsuit against Maine Today Media, alleging it was not paid for tons of paper delivered to the company. McGrann Paper Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., sought payment of more than $124,000 in unpaid bills for more than 300,000 pounds of paper.

 

According to the suit, CRG Partners Group LLC, a firm that specializes in restructuring troubled companies, was brought into Maine Today Media to work with the media company.

 

According to documents provided to the Bangor Daily News, CRG was seeking up to $15 million in investment for a "northeast print and digital media company." According to the source, that company was MaineToday Media.

 

The investment papers said the company was seeking to replace about $10 million in new investment to retire debt and $5 million to provide new liquidity.

 

The company had been losing increasing amounts of money over the last few years, which was not an aberration given the economy and its effect on the media industry. But through recent cuts and the update of the company's technology, the papers suggested, the company could be profitable.

 

Responses to all Articles and Bo-Rants are greatly encouraged

All news items and the various opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the opinion of, nor in agreement with the opinions of BoSacks. They are just interesting thoughts and other opinions that BoSacks thinks you should know about. 

After all, as the Japanese proverb goes: 

"If you believe everything you read, perhaps you better not read."