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"Broadcasters are storytellers, newspapers are fact-gatherers and organisers of information and news magazines are kind of a hybrid of both."Everette E. Dennis
The first Indian Magazine Summit (IMS) brought to the fore... a plethora of issues confronting the Indian magazine industry today. With television and newspaper dominating, as a medium of news and information, what place does a magazine occupy, realistically, in a cluttered media space? A lot has been heard from the newspaper and television fraternity as compared to the magazine industry — not really known for vociferous presence. Prominent editors of magazines, marketers and media planners congregated in the capital city, to grapple on these varied issues, confronting the magazine sector on July 29.
The day's proceedings kicked off with Jacob Mathew, Deputy President INS and Executive Editor, Malayalam Manorama, setting the agenda of the day. Mathew felt that the Indian magazine industry is in a transition phase. Upbeat about the prospective challenges, which lie ahead for the magazine industry, Mathew said, "We are ready to fire all bullets and face the challenges. The general interest magazines are gradually losing their foothold. In order to retain reader's interest, these magazines need to be truly outstanding." He added, "Niche magazines are cliché and it's the specialised magazines, which will succeed in today's market." It is essential for magazines to cater to specific interests of the reader. Specialised magazines on indoor, advertising, jobs, real estate, automobiles are the ones, which will succeed in the times to come, according to Mathew.
Change the business model for magazines
Next in line was CEO and Editor-in-Chief, India Today Group, Aroon Purie, who raised quite a few concerns of the magazine industry. He was of the view that the Indian magazines are extremely low priced as compared to the international market rates and therefore highly dependent on the revenue from advertising. Talking about the transition that has taken place in the Indian media scene, he said, "The 80s belonged to the magazines: with several launches happening at that time, and a rise in their circulation. On the other hand, the 90s belonged to newspapers while the new century is seeing the television rule." However, Purie was optimistic about the future of magazines and predicted that the next half of the decade will belong to them.
Suggesting a paradigm shift in the business model of magazines, Purie said, "It is time there was a shift in the magazine industry from advertising-driven revenue to subscription-driven revenue, which was the business model working well abroad." This was his suggestion to all magazine publishers. He also stressed the need for the magazine industry to focus on quicker distribution methods at lower cost. "The magazine industry has huge potential to grow and the task truly is to identify the opportunities," he asked.
The essence of magazine publication is not just about putting ink on paper, but also about creating the right reading environment. It is about what you build around the magazine, the way you engage your reader offline, suggested Purie.
Nothing compares to editorial competence
The first session of the summit was on "Editorial challenges and opportunities for magazines" — renowned editors debated whether content ruled over other operations in the magazine industry.
The panel comprised Prabhu Chawla (Group Editorial Director, India Today Group), who moderated the session. The panelists included Ashok Mahadevan (Editor, Reader's Digest), Paresh Nath (President, Association of Indian magazines and Editor and Publisher Delhi Press Group), Sanjoy Narayan (Editor-Business Today) and Alok Mehta (Editor, Outlook-Hindi edition).
The speakers were collectively of the opinion that magazines should keep their focus on the 'written word' and re-invent themselves as much as possible. Chawla, on the commencement of the session, said, "The most important aspect for a magazine is the credibility it enjoys. At the cost of innovating and re-inventing we should not mortgage our soul to the market."
Worried about the lack of good stories being told, Chawla added, "We should break stories but what we also need is good story telling, nothing can be a substitute for that."
Looking at the recent trends, in the way newspapers are increasingly looking like magazines, Chawla quoted the example of The Hindustan Times Mumbai, wherein three magazines/supplements were given free with the newly launched newspaper's edition.
“The challenge today is the paucity of time; it is imperative to give relevant information but the time spent by readers is immensely low,” Narayan of Business Today said, "Today, blogging makes reporters out of everyone. News and analyses is disseminated among networks, which are ever growing. The reading habits of youngsters are not encouraging." Narayan proposed the use of the Internet in a more far-reaching manner and opined, "Most publishers haven't embraced the Internet the way it needs to be done. There should be a seamless integration of print and the Internet," he felt.
The success of a magazine lies in the quality of its narrative and its editorial excellence. We have to change with the times and if one does not match with the needs of one's customer, the magazine would close down, just like any other product. The session was marked by the heated discussions courtesy the man otherwise famous for his "seedhi baat".
To read the entire story, grab your copy of Impact Advertising and Weekly magazine issue dated August 1-7, 2005