LESSON 32: RETURN OF THE MAG

Today we're all about the role of magazines in our lives or, more pertinently, the reason why magazines are increasingly NOT in our lives.

We begin with a quick over view of the magazine

MAGAZINE POWER-POINT

We looked at some of the reasons as to why the magazine was rapidly becoming a dying medium. We discovered that our own consumption was the best place to start with this. why it was that only 1 person in the two groups [50 students] regularly read a magazine [TV soaps] and why those of us that had used to regularly subscribe to magazines [me] no longer did so and rarely bought or read them any more.

we decided that merely blaming it all on the internet and new technology was [a] easy answer and [b] too simplistic

Yes we all use the internet for gossip, news, reviews, ideas, recipes, fashion, music but there was more than this.

We considered the idea of 'waste' and re-cycling - the green debate and print based materials. We thought about cost and transport and how these might be considerations as much as convenience and accessibility of the internet versions.

We finished by thinking about how magazines defined us and how some had become adept at survival, why had these magazines thrived whilst others had declined.  This lead into some consideration as to demographics of audience, the needs and pleasures of audience and the idea of niche publishing.