Are magazine publishers being well served by their trade press?

By Michael Turro
March 20, 2008
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I read an article today that got me a bit peeved. The story – Profitable Web 2.0 Tactics – was the cover story for the March 2008 issue of the trade magazine Publishing Executive. In the interest of stirring debate I left a comment on the mag’s site and as of this posting it was under review. Hopefully they’ll post it, but if there is some sort of technical glitch or if they find it objectionable for some reason I have decided to post it here as well. So here it is:

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So what exactly is it about NewBay’s approach that could be seen as being even remotely “Web 2.0″? Seems to me like everything they’re doing is straight out of a playbook written in 1998. In reading this article it would seem to me that PubExec has no clue as to what “web 2.0″ even is. Granted it is a rather cloudy concept to begin with, but that does not excuse you from having to be somewhere in the ballpark… especially if you’re going to run it on your cover.

What would be a story worthy of your headline (and cover) would be if NewBay was opening up their data via some kind of API, giving some control over how it gets shaped to users, letting their readers mash it with other services to create something entirely new. THAT would be closer to the “web 2.0″ ethos. Or if they DID utilize the existing social frameworks to complement their own offerings (hello YouTube API) rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. THAT would be closer to the “web 2.0″ ethos. Or if they used that information about their readers to introduce them to each other, to start conversations. THAT would be closer to the “web 2.0″ ethos.

At the end of the day those of us that love magazines, that want to see them thrive on the web beyond v.2.0 need to start thinking about this stuff a bit more critically. Publishers need more from you guys than regurgitated buzwords… they need inspiration and ideas.

View Comments for “Are magazine publishers being well served by their trade press?”

  • This article I so true, keep on writing like this, enjoyment to read :) 844
  • Delete

    Sent via mobile (so please excuse the brevity and any typos)
  • Joe:
    Let me be clear: my problem with the article has nothing to do with NewBay - you are doing what all of us in the industry are - trying to figure out a complex and quickly changing technical landscape. From what I see you guys are holding your own.

    No, my problem, and what I said in my un-posted follow up to Noelle's editorial reply, is that PubExec is using the "web 2.0" buzz word in order to SEEM like they're on top of what's happening. After reading the article it's almost obvious that they're not.

    As I said in that comment at their site that ended up somewhere in the ether - I would have no problem with this article at all if they made one simple change - title it "Profitable Web Tactics." That's it.

    The fact that they didn't - and that the feature a story on "web 2.0" that has no "web 2.0" substance is a red flag. Now I have to question whether or not reading PubExec is in fact wise. That this conversation is taking place here on my blog instead of on their site is also reason for concern.
  • upnunder
    Hello Michael,

    Read your post on PubExec regarding NewBay Media and I don't disagree at all with your feelings about the article. There maybe should have been a "work in progress" angle to the story since we have 50+ sites, many of them God-awful in their look and backend.

    We/I also inherited sites and online products that had been after-thoughts at best by previous management based on their magazine-first mentality.

    But has initial cross-marketing of the audiences via forums and content proven to be an increasing source of revenue? You bet.
    Perhaps there will be a follow-up article, which hopefully doesn't mention the played out Web2.0 buzzword, and we can then showcase the progress.

    I wouldn't mind connecting with you to hear the hurdles you have seen and overcome at M. Shanken.

    Talk to you soon.

    Joe Ferrick
    VP, Web Development
    NewBay Media
    212-378-0410
  • They posted the first comment - with an editorial reply. They have yet to post my response to the editorial comment.
  • Well, I was mildly critical of another PubExec article and wasn't approved, so I wouldn't get your hopes up. (However, I was told it was merely a "glitch" that kept my comments from getting posted. Maybe you'll make it through.)
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