BoSacks Readers Speak Out: On Paper, Printing Trends and Circ.

BoSacks Readers Speak Out: On Paper, Printing Trends and Circ.
www.bosacks.com

Re: Long Live Paper!
A very big yeah! From a paper dude! I once had a cartoon I saved from the Economist that showed a lumberjack ready to cut the last tree and and eviromentalist standing proclaiming it was the last tree and the lumberjack only had the vision of the "last chair". I really don't think we will witness the end of trees or paper (but it always strikes me a little funny). And I love the debate and the fact that we all have to work a little harder to ensure or future!
(Submitted by a Paper Person)

Re: Long Live Paper!
I just got around to reading this... On my iPhone. And I sell paper for a living.
How sad is that?
(Submitted by a paper Person)

Re: Identifying the Top Trends for 2008

Bob: Say hi to Nick , . . . He has it right! It is all about the reader. It still is simple to round up the right readers and sell them to the advertisers! Give the advertisers what they really want - response. Give 'em what they want! One more thing! Taking newsstand alone out of the total circulation mix is silly. Great, let's raise newsstand prices, but still 'sell' subs at 12 issues for 12 dollars. then we can all complain about the decline in newsstand sales, and how smart the sub folks are. Let's compare the intro sub prices (forget basic rate) on some of the same titles to their newsstand prices, and track them over the last 5 -7 years, interesting.

Oh, and by the way, how about some newsletter writers who actually worked selling ads, or circ or with full P & L responsibility. Some things are easy to criticize, but very very hard to do
(Submitted by a Senior Distributor)


RE: the-future-of-newspapers-the-problem-is-in-the-newsroom-not-the-newspaper
I guess I don't understand why "news" has to be an online medium and "information" has to be print. While there are some unique aspects to "paper technology" - emerging developments in e-paper readers and cost reductions in technology will erode this advantage over the next several years. Personally I'd like to see a tablet type portable that

allows me to download my paper or magazine or book via wireless and where appropriate read it in a design format that approximates to the analog original. Maybe the rumored ultra-portable from Apple, supposedly making an appearance at Macworld Expo in January will give some pointers to future trends.
(Submitted by a Publisher)


Re: Americans' Reading Proficiency in 'Alarming' Decline
The article asks, What are the consequences if America becomes "a nation in which reading is a minority activity"?

I know the answer to this question.

Specifically, I know what happens when people stop reading novels. Now, this article was at pains to say real *reading*, serious, manly, commercial *reading* was more important to study than an earlier NEA effort that got, I guess, bogged down in literary reading which "led critics to downplay its implications."

Novels, then, are the least of our problems: they're frills and idle pleasures, and if women want to go on reading them that's OK, but men surely don't have to, and maybe we can rework school curricula so they begin to disappear. Novels are not important.

Excuse me, but they are. Staggeringly important if it comes right down to it. This is serious, so allow me to explain.

Reading a novel requires entering the interior life of its characters. It's not a place any other art form can take you quite as fully, because you arrive there with the opportunity to reflect on your own life. (Movies, operating in real time, have extremely

limited opportunities for reflection, but thanks for playing.) By reading a novel, you develop three extraordinary skills: empathy, because a character's choices will actually make sense; sympathy, because a reader can share a character's emotions; and self-

knowledge, because the choices, circumstances, and behaviors the reader reflects on will doubtless extend his experiences, imaginary though they be, to include crucial decision about identity and self.

Let me put it another way. Could you invade Iraq if you'd read Moby- Dick and Middlemarch?

Not unless these books' insights into hubris and the nature of society's interdependence somehow eluded you. When reading a novel, I learn about myself and I learn about the world and I'm hard-pressed to think of any other thing that can teach so much, that can strengthen me so much.

I admit, reading is harder than video games. It's harder because reflection is involved. (And sometimes vocabulary, and a certain generosity toward cultural oddities of other times and places.) But reflection would be one of the last bits of baggage we'd want to discard. It is what makes society possible, tolerable, even hopeful. It is what makes death endurable, too.

So, if reading becomes a minority activity, we will have greed and useless levels of self-assurance and very little tolerance. The inner lives of others will become closed to us. That would leave us, I suppose, rather mystified by other people, and quicker still to see them as enemies. We will stop understanding each other.

Novels look like little pleasure craft floating along in society, not a causal force. But if we could dissect the fabric of thought and belief, we would surely discover that the cultivation of imagination had a great deal to do with the advances of science, and that the cultivation of empathy had a great deal to do with every bit of political, philosophical, and social progress mankind has made.

Literary reading is not a minor scrap of pleasure but the source of thinking that engages the self and world honestly and compassionately. Go ahead--try to think of something else that does.
(Submitted by an Industry Supplier)

BoSacks Readers Speak Out: On Roy Reiman, Time's Maghound, Bad Math and Prints Future.

BoSacks Readers Speak Out: On Roy Reiman, Time's Maghound, Bad Math and Prints Future.
www.bosacks.com

Re: The Future of Print Publishing and Paid Content
Scott Karp's thoughtful piece on the future of publishing had a fairly straightforward central premise: since readers know that online content doesn't cost the publisher anything to distribute, they won't pay as much for online content as they will for content in print. Karp said that consumers "intuitively understand that it doesn't cost the publisher nearly as much to make the content available digitally as it did to put all of those books physically on a shelf."
Are manufacturing and distribution costs what make print different from online? I'd suggest that the answer is a resounding no. I think many customers pay a premium for content in print because print has intrinsic qualities that make it more valuable.

Let's look at another guide to the relative value of print and online-the advertising revenue stream.

There's a serious difference between the CPMs of print and online advertising. An ad that runs in a magazine or newspaper commands a much higher price per exposure than an ad on the magazine or newspaper's Web site . . . even if the ad appears in the same content in each medium.

The cost difference is a pretty clear indication that print has higher value for an advertiser. It's hard to imagine that advertisers would pay a premium for print if they didn't recognize additional value, or that publishers wouldn't charge more for online advertising if they could.

We could debate the relative merits of the two media for years. In fact, we have. But why print CPMs are higher than online CPMs isn't as important as the fact that they simply are.

Karp's piece ended just when he got to the good stuff. He mentioned that the "citizen-journalists" who contribute to BostonNow prefer to be published in print rather than online-another way of saying that print offers higher value . . . which is why writers prefer to see their work in print and why marketers are willing to pay more for print advertising.

As practitioners of the publisher's craft, we owe it to ourselves to promote the advantages of print. It's certainly in our financial interest to do so, and the intrinsic merits of different media aren't insignificant. Writers recognize the difference. Advertisers pay for the difference. Of course publishers need to embrace the Web, and of course exciting opportunities await online . . . but it's worth remembering that from the customer's perspective, the value of print (like the value of any medium) is completely unrelated to a publisher's costs.
(Submitted by a Publisher)


RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: Bad Math Among eBook Enthusiasts
Tim O'Reilly is a very smart publisher. I'll add a different angle. Let's assume that he's wrong and that prices do fall to, and remain at, $5 a title. What publisher and author combination can make money that way? Reading hasn't reduced in volume because the prices are too high - books just aren't that expensive. If you have a current business model under which most titles don't even make back the pitiful advances that authors get, and where the cost of the actual paper is only about $1.50 a copy, then dropping the price by 60 to 80 percent is going to mean that publishers won't be able to afford to print anything that isn't going to be wildly successful. Current backlists may stay around (if the publishers have acquired the necessary rights), but forget the variety of titles coming out now. You'll be down to a handful of authors who can generate the necessary sales. Then
supply and demand will kick back in, because there are those massive infrastructures to feed, and prices will head back up anyway. Some individual authors might be able to self publish, but if they're getting 35 percent of $5, that's $1.75. Take out costs of design and production, and maybe they're at $1 a book if they're lucky, which is the inadequate stream of money they made from publishers - too low to support self-publishing. So $5 a copy, if really gutting the paper model, would really leave book publishing virtually dead.
(Submitted by a Writer)

RE: Can Time Inc.'s Maghound Concept Work?
This seems like an awful lot of work, with a whole bunch of folks needing to pay attention to the details, for not much convenience. If I want a magazine, I will subscribe, often for years at a time (to keep those annoying renewal notices at bay.) Who really thinks there are consumers with the time, interest, and inclination to work through a market basket of different magazines on a try-it-I-might-like-it basis? This has a funny odor to it, smelling something like the old Publisher's Clearing House stamp programs, and we all remember how that ended up. Sorry, I just don't get it. Seems very last century in the internet world!
(Submitted by a Director of Mfg and Dst)

RE: Can Time Inc.'s Maghound Concept Work?
This is overblown.. . . They've been fooling with this for years, even printed and mailed a catalog in 2004. It's just Time Inc's new age version of PDS, and is not likely to be a big hit. There's trouble in Stanford, don't you know . . .
(Submitted by a CEO of a Distributer)

RE: Roy Reiman Speaks Out; Setting the Record Straight:
Hats off to Mr. Reiman for clarifying this muddled issue. Roy Reiman is so correct regarding the significant differences between a national magazine business model and a regional magazine, particularly with regard to circulation levels. Years ago the brilliant and venerable Bill Ziff, owner of Ziff-Davis, stated a very similar thesis in a Folio article that encapsulated most, if not all, of the great truths about running a profitable magazine business, i.e., serving the reader first and foremost is the key to profitability.

What I find particularly troubling is the obvious question that RDA avoids mentioning, i.e., If Reiman Publishing didn't make money (and make money hand-over-fist) why did RDA bother to buy it? If the Reiman business model didn't work at the time of purchase, the senior management at RDA and all of its many consultants would never have pursued the purchase particularly given RDA's own profit problems at the time. I would love to see what happens to the renowned Reiman renewal rates over the next three years and the consequent cost of replacing lost renewals due to the dissatisfaction of subscribers who were sold on the premise of no advertising and are now experiencing a magazine that is just another advertising vehicle.
(Submitted by a VP Circulation Marketing)

Re: How an electronic newspaper could become profitable
Bill Richards may know the newspaper business from a reporter's perspective, but he doesn't understand the business side. Eliminating paper by going electronic does not eliminate the need for circulation. The paper still has to be promoted and fulfilled -- and audited. Emarketing is a lot cheaper than traditional marketing, but it still has to be done.
(Submitted by an Unknown)

RE: Roy Reiman Speaks Out; Setting the Record Straight:
What a refreshing new take, people in the know directly responding in an open forum.

Bob, I believe this is what you have strived for all these years, an open honest discussion among the leader's of the publishing industry.

Now that the record is set straight with RDA and Mr. Reiman, here's what I want to know:
How much more downsizing, outsourcing and consolidation will happen in '08?

How are today's publishers going to make a profit in '08 and beyond?

What is being done to counteract the rising costs of paper, postage and manufacturing costs?

What efforts are underway to increase advertising spend in print? In digital?

Is a no-advertising model like Mr. Reiman suggests in the works?
Who today has a national title that could support itself without advertising revenue given the rising costs of paper and postage?

There seems to be a big surge in outsourcing of non-core business functions (latest is production management and print buying). What are the printers doing to bring value added to the publishers without giving away the profit margins? What are the publishers doing to help their printers and paper suppliers stay in business?
(Submitted by a Director of MFG)

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Mea Culpa on RDA, Reiman and Ripplewood.
Bob: I thought I had seen the article before too, but figured maybe it was a slow news week. It is good to read the viewpoints of each of you in the same posting, as now. As an observer, and a subscriber to these magazines, I don't believe my core thoughts on Ripplewood's approach has changed much, but today's post certainly adds perspective.

That you are at the 'epicenter' of a huge volume of communications regarding this business and yet retain your sanity, perspective, and optimism, is a major accomplishment, beyond the ken of most.
(Submitted by a Publisher)

BoSacks Readers Speak Out: This is Important

"Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared."
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (American Pilot, Businessman and Aviator. 1890-1973)


BoSacks Readers Speak Out: This is Important
www.bosacks.com



RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
that was great! the biggest story of all is how small an organization you really need to create and deploy content today and tomorrow to what is becoming a global audience in the past, the only book that was global was the bible. today it's me in my pajamas pecking away at a keyboard with the words going around the world :)
these are marvelously disruptive times, with more turmoil and opportunity to come
(Submitted by an Industry Consultant)


RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
Well said Bob. At the same time, we are in the process of purchasing a new, 8 wide, 64 page press capable of producing over 3/4 of a billion impressions of print volume per year. Mark my words, it will be full in less than three years time. Granted, we will be producing more catalog volume than in years past but there is still a solid business here for the efficient few that will remain standing.
Submitted by a Printer)


RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
Heavy sigh. You are right. Even worse it's our own fault.
A big part of the problem is that we are the media. We are very good at disseminating information. And of late we are wallowing in self pity and many of us feel compelled to write about our sorry state and publicize our problems rather than do something tangible about them. Distributing the written word is what we do best after all.

The end result is this misery-loves-company mentality which is kind of like a circular reference that goes like this -

Things are bad, but they are worse for other publishers so I'm in good shape. The thing that really grabs me is the response to any new ideas - nobody else (a.k.a. The other publishers who are in worse shape) are doing that so it won't work, and it's a waste of time to try.
I'm sick of the whining and complaining. We all need to either pick up the ball and run hard and fast with it in different directions than we have been been leisurely strolling along for decades. Or move on and do something else. Putting our energy into this Things Are Bad and Things Are Going to Get Worse message is self defeating.

And that is a long winded way of saying you are right. I could have stopped after my first paragraph.
(Submitted by a Publisher)


RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
I, for one, have been encouraged by the recent articles you found on the effectiveness of magazines as part of integrated ad campaigns.

Besides, as a writer, I need to know the various ways media companies are building their electronic outlets and rethinking their print products, and what their editors and business-side folks think about how people will digest content in the future, so that I am capable of creating content that works for their new models.

As for the production and distribution people in our business, I certainly feel for them. But not wanting to hear reality is not going to make them more secure. People should take stock of what their best individual traits and skills are, and figure out how they can be best used, even in other industries. Besides retirement, what other choice is there?
(Submitted by an Editor)



RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
Amen, brother. You have it right on the nose. In B2B it's either adapt or become extinct. There is no other choice.
(Submitted by a Publisher)


RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
Bo, even though I work for a separator, I've also come the conclusion that ink on paper is on its way to be diesel. Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. likes to say how he comes up with ideas just by walking around and with a kid's mentality envisions something that would be really cool. Well I've come up with an idea that would surpass e-paper. Flip down screen glasses that would be remoted from your phone where you could toggle back and forth from newspapers to magazines to books then also e-mails and downloaded movies. The ear-buds would come right on the glasses(easily changed of course). We would only need to flip up the glasses to speak to a person(conductor on the train), walk or drive. Think of how much paper we would save and still not have to carry around an e-book.
(Submitted by an Industry Supplier)



RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
Bo, this reminds me of American Idol, you are Simon and this industry is William Hung. Tell me I am good even though I suck. I thank you for giving it to us straight even though you seem to have a digital slant on some of the topics. Hey that e-paper is 5 years away!! This is a crazy market right now with mills closing and consolidating and people loosing their jobs and now paper companies are yelling Yahoo!! as they raise their pricing way too fast thus killing their future demand. I forecast over the next few months a big reduction in catalogs and mailings and you will see magazines that were on the edge closing up shop. It would be nice to contemplate retiring from this business but I am not planning on it. A wise man once told me have a few good talents to fall back on and that is exactly what I am currently cultivating. I'm not planning on going anywhere but if my number comes up I will be ready. This is a crazy industry indeed but tell me how beautiful I look again.. . .
(Submitted by a Major Paper Buyer)


RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
Bob - you do a great job bringing us all the news - good or bad - those with their heads in the sand are looking for good news in the wrong places.
(Submitted by an Industry Consultant)


RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
Dude, you are on a roll! This is incredibly well-written.
And I love that there is no article attached -- just straight 'Bo' !
(Submitted by son of BoSacks)

RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
I have heard that comment - about your negativity - from many sources over the years. Especially from vendors. Every now and then I agree with them. And I too was the head of McCall's manufacturing, before G+J hooked up the ROSIE and the rest is history. But in the end you are correct; the bad news is drowning out the good. If I find the good news, I will pass it on.
(Submitted by a Senior Production Director and Industry Icon)


RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
Bo - If nothing else, and this would be an understatement, you are honest and direct. You are also absolutely correct about the direction of print, or better yet, communications coming out of print these days. Silicon may actually be a bit limiting though, and bits may be more accurate and then the output determined by the end user and their comfort level or technological capabilities.
(Submitted by an Industry Supplier)

RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
Well said, Bob. We all get pulled down by the whirlpools of negativity and bad news, but some people can compartmentalize those feelings and still experience joy and pleasure in dealing with the "printed" word (choose your delivery medium please!).

Sadly the reward of single-minded devotion to a salary-paying job, rather than to a philosophy or skill-set, is turning yourself into an undesirable dinosaur. No one will reward you for keeping blinders on and "doing a good job"- you need to reward yourself through intellectual curiosity and the knowledge that you will always have new things to learn and contribute.

If depression and stress are all that accompany you in your work day, then you're doing the wrong job and need to re-invent yourself! (and develop a more well-rounded life)-someone who has
(Submitted an Industry Advisor)



RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: This is Very Important
I call you I-Bo : )
(submitted by a Printer)

BoSacks Readers Speak Out: Journalism, Print Power, Editors and Professors

BoSacks Readers Speak Out: Journalism, Print Power, Editors and Professors
www.bosacks.com


RE: Journalism Isn't Pro Bono Work and It's Not a Hobby
It is about time print starts talking about the power of print.
Print has the tools to prove accountability by measuring and reporting the print to web connections.
(Submitted by a Writer)

RE: Journalism Isn't Pro Bono Work and It's Not a Hobby
Lessee . . . sell your product for money, but don't pay for it. . . . Didn't slave-owners and feudal lords have that business model? Even they often had to grudgingly feed the serfs, or have no labor at all.

The call for contributors ought to make interesting copy, too. "Join our Nifty BlogOrganization! Just send in your stuff and we'll sell it at no net gain to you. Improve your tax status! Write for no income whatsoever! A byline is compensation enough! Aw, C'mon!"
Submitted by a Publisher)



RE: Editor: Print Media Safe Due to Need for Status
Thank God, Zinczenko doesn't resort to silly little ploys like logic and evidence. His main argument seems to be "what is is and therefore shall always be."
(Submitted by a Writer)


RE: Editor: Print Media Safe Due to Need for Status
This is amazing. The best rationale for the perpetuation of print is the uniform look of electronic devices? Perhaps Mr. Zinczenko has missed the multi million dollar industry that is custom ring tones, or its little cousin the "skin" industry - personalization of electronic devices is already here. Even your cellphone choice sends a clear message- who do you take more seriously when they show up for a sales meeting the rep with the lime-green RAZR or the one with the Treo? Projecting yourself via your circuitry is infinitely more effective than relying on brand awareness of the voyeurs on the train - plus you can change it by the hour to suit your mood.

Perhaps David needs a new ring tone for his phone, I would suggest Nero playing his fiddle. . .
(Submitted by a printer, media enthusiast and aspiring futurist)


RE: Professor: Print Media 'Destined to Disappear'
This guy needs to come down from his ivory tower and take a look at the real world. Plenty of ink-on-paper "news" publications are prospering and will continue to prosper. If people don't want to read stuff they could have read days before on the Web, why is The Week doing so well? If news publications are dying, why are such varied publications as The Economist, American Profile, The New York Times Magazine, and local weekly papers doing so well? Print media have never been as good as broadcast media at delivering the latest national and international headlines, and the Web is even better than broadcast for that. But there is a lot more to news than headlines. Despite what the pundits say, consumers don't see the Web and print as an either-or situation: They see each as having its purpose. And despite the pronouncements of Gemstar, Sony, Stephen King, and various pundits and futurists, consumers don't seem to have much use at all for electronic publications or e-book readers.


One more point: I don't see how Chris Anderson will earn more on the free version of his next book than on the paid version. Based on what Pennenberg says, Anderson will receive about $2.50 (10% of $25) for each book sold. The rate-card rate on a 4-color ad in Wired has a CPM of about $107, or less than 11 cents per copy. The book would need 24 ads at that rate (and how many advertisers pay the rate-card rate?) to equal the $2.50, not to mention any commissions and other costs of advertising, distribution costs, etc. If he can sell that many ads at that rate, he should give up writing for Wired and start selling ads instead.
(Submitted by a Publisher)


RE: BoSacks Readers Speak Out: This is Important
If people want to avoid the negative aspects of the industry for a day go visit a university. Any university will do to see bright excited students eagered to enter the business world. A better idea is to visit Kean, NYU ol Cal Poly and see what is happening in their Graphic Communications department. Your visit will not change the outlook on the industry but you will feel excited and refreshed by being with the future leaders of our industry.
(Submitted by a Vice President /Manufacturing Operations)


RE: BoSacks Readers Speak Out: This is Important
Bo, you speak for us all. Well at least for most of us. We are all fearful, not for our lives but for our livelihoods'. Although we have never met, you have helped me understand my career and the publishing industry better than any ten persons I have ever worked with. You cover the entire industry with wit and wisdom. All I can say is thanks and please keep me as informed as is possible. The choices I make are my own, but I feel more comfortable with guidance and vision. Your ability and willingness to share with me for over a decade is worth beyond measure.
(Submitted by a Senior Circulator)


RE: BoSacks Readers Speak Out: This is Important
Thank you.
Alas. I know.
My heart may be digital; but my brains are still back in the stone age.
(Submitted by a Publisher)

BoSacks Readers Speak Out: Journalism, Print Power, Editors and Professors

BoSacks Readers Speak Out: Journalism, Print Power, Editors and Professors
www.bosacks.com


RE: Journalism Isn't Pro Bono Work and It's Not a Hobby
It is about time print starts talking about the power of print.
Print has the tools to prove accountability by measuring and reporting the print to web connections.
(Submitted by a Writer)

RE: Journalism Isn't Pro Bono Work and It's Not a Hobby
Lessee . . . sell your product for money, but don't pay for it. . . . Didn't slave-owners and feudal lords have that business model? Even they often had to grudgingly feed the serfs, or have no labor at all.

The call for contributors ought to make interesting copy, too. "Join our Nifty BlogOrganization! Just send in your stuff and we'll sell it at no net gain to you. Improve your tax status! Write for no income whatsoever! A byline is compensation enough! Aw, C'mon!"
Submitted by a Publisher)



RE: Editor: Print Media Safe Due to Need for Status
Thank God, Zinczenko doesn't resort to silly little ploys like logic and evidence. His main argument seems to be "what is is and therefore shall always be."
(Submitted by a Writer)


RE: Editor: Print Media Safe Due to Need for Status
This is amazing. The best rationale for the perpetuation of print is the uniform look of electronic devices? Perhaps Mr. Zinczenko has missed the multi million dollar industry that is custom ring tones, or its little cousin the "skin" industry - personalization of electronic devices is already here. Even your cellphone choice sends a clear message- who do you take more seriously when they show up for a sales meeting the rep with the lime-green RAZR or the one with the Treo? Projecting yourself via your circuitry is infinitely more effective than relying on brand awareness of the voyeurs on the train - plus you can change it by the hour to suit your mood.

Perhaps David needs a new ring tone for his phone, I would suggest Nero playing his fiddle. . .
(Submitted by a printer, media enthusiast and aspiring futurist)


RE: Professor: Print Media 'Destined to Disappear'
This guy needs to come down from his ivory tower and take a look at the real world. Plenty of ink-on-paper "news" publications are prospering and will continue to prosper. If people don't want to read stuff they could have read days before on the Web, why is The Week doing so well? If news publications are dying, why are such varied publications as The Economist, American Profile, The New York Times Magazine, and local weekly papers doing so well? Print media have never been as good as broadcast media at delivering the latest national and international headlines, and the Web is even better than broadcast for that. But there is a lot more to news than headlines. Despite what the pundits say, consumers don't see the Web and print as an either-or situation: They see each as having its purpose. And despite the pronouncements of Gemstar, Sony, Stephen King, and various pundits and futurists, consumers don't seem to have much use at all for electronic publications or e-book readers.


One more point: I don't see how Chris Anderson will earn more on the free version of his next book than on the paid version. Based on what Pennenberg says, Anderson will receive about $2.50 (10% of $25) for each book sold. The rate-card rate on a 4-color ad in Wired has a CPM of about $107, or less than 11 cents per copy. The book would need 24 ads at that rate (and how many advertisers pay the rate-card rate?) to equal the $2.50, not to mention any commissions and other costs of advertising, distribution costs, etc. If he can sell that many ads at that rate, he should give up writing for Wired and start selling ads instead.
(Submitted by a Publisher)


RE: BoSacks Readers Speak Out: This is Important
If people want to avoid the negative aspects of the industry for a day go visit a university. Any university will do to see bright excited students eagered to enter the business world. A better idea is to visit Kean, NYU ol Cal Poly and see what is happening in their Graphic Communications department. Your visit will not change the outlook on the industry but you will feel excited and refreshed by being with the future leaders of our industry.
(Submitted by a Vice President /Manufacturing Operations)


RE: BoSacks Readers Speak Out: This is Important
Bo, you speak for us all. Well at least for most of us. We are all fearful, not for our lives but for our livelihoods'. Although we have never met, you have helped me understand my career and the publishing industry better than any ten persons I have ever worked with. You cover the entire industry with wit and wisdom. All I can say is thanks and please keep me as informed as is possible. The choices I make are my own, but I feel more comfortable with guidance and vision. Your ability and willingness to share with me for over a decade is worth beyond measure.
(Submitted by a Senior Circulator)


RE: BoSacks Readers Speak Out: This is Important
Thank you.
Alas. I know.
My heart may be digital; but my brains are still back in the stone age.
(Submitted by a Publisher)

BoSacks Readers Speak Out: ON MPA, Time Inc, Conde and Mentors

"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong."
Charles Wadsworth


BoSacks Readers Speak Out: ON MPA, Time Inc, Conde and Mentors
www.bosacks.com

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
Today's mentors? You mean you want young people to learn from the upper- and mid-level executives who dismissed the Internet, desktop publishing, cross media, and ran bloated, bureaucratic self-protective organizations? Okay. I guess we need to cultivate more narrow-minded bonus-focused executives to discourage the young people below them so that, in frustration, those young people can they out on their own and start their own businesses. If that's what we want, then mentoring is a great idea. Everyone can learn a lot from viewing a bad example. Many successful businesses were created by inspired executives who could not make headway in the organizations they were in.

Seriously, mentoring comes from age diversity in organizations, not just a plan. In many job cutting schemes, middle-management is cut the most, which creates a discontinuity in organizational succession. When companies stop growing, as many big publishing companies have, there can be a serious age-imbalance that interrupts traditional passing of knowledge as one generation looked out for another. What this means is that managers start making old mistakes in new ways because there is no one there to stop them.

Industry growth can cover a multitude of sins; industry decline exposes them and creates new problems. The lack of mentoring is one of them.

There is another issue. Many young people are in a marketplace for which additional education is quite common. For example, one-third of all business students will have MBA's about 10 years after they graduate. Much of what was passed in the mentoring process is now passed in additional outside educational endeavors that were not available in the past.

Technology has also changed things, and standardized them. Desktop publishing has standardized trade practices that were sometimes unique to organizations that would have otherwise required a mentoring process to impart.
(Submitted by an Industry analyst and one of Bosacks favorite pundits)

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
Look at the "New York School of Printing" aka now "High School for Graphic Communications" a public high school quietly dying in the heart of the world's media a scream away from some of the worlds largest publishers. My recent visit there was a very sad event.
(Submitted by a Senior Print Sales Director)

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
Not so fast Bo. There is still mentorship going on. It's not like the old days, but here and there the teaching still goes on. You judge the world from your own experiences, and as fair as that may seem, most of your experiences were very uncommon. Who else got the chance to learn from Lowell, Vito and Irving?
(Submitted by a Senior Dir of Mfg)

RE: IN TOUCH OUT OF IT
Is this really that valid a test, though? Not only did In Touch not use a celeb, but it tried to cover a serious topic and did so at a traumatic time when most of the serious media was all over the situation, increasing by orders of magnitude its competition. I think it's smart to try something new, but to go with a choice that altered that many factors at once means that you'll never know what the test taught you.
(Submitted by a Writer)

RE: Magazine Series Raises Ethical QuestionsWell, this is about the fastest way to get the general public to stop watching web content from reputable information brands and instead tune into the knucklehead bloggers and video producers who contend that their own crap is as credible as ours. Without that distinction, I might as well find another line of work.
Thanks for nothing, Marie Claire.
(Submitted by a Senior Editor)

RE: Conde Nast's Portfolio Pits Old Media Against Web Models
One question about "top writers": how many readers even recognize the majority of those bylines? I don't have an answer, but it's something I've wondered about. Would a title be smarter to search out talent that doesn't get all the attention to present something new? And when it comes to business magazines, I've talked with editors I know in that area and have come away with the thought that most of them are really about investing and horse race reporting, not about understanding business. And what does Portfolio do? Hire Tom Wolfe to write about hedge funds. Gee, how about covering management, strategic planning, supply chain issues, companies moving away from convention wisdom, and all the topics that you generally only find in business trade magazines that seem to attract devoted readerships.
(Submitted by a Writer)

Re: Magazine Series Raises Ethical Questions
Bob: In advertising, as in war, Truth is often the first casualty.
(Submitted by a Publisher)

Re: News Flash: Anything This Graphic Should Never Have a Logo
We, in media, especially in the digital era where anyone and everyone can "publish", are nothing if not our brand.
(Submitted by a Online Database Manager)

Re: Time and Hearst focus on new media, not new titles
Time inc will be more digital when they shake up the organization from the top. Their current moves of downsizing staff and selling properties is just senior management chess. All those resources and they are not dominant on the web?
(Submitted by an Industry supplier)

RE: Magazine Ad Pages Grow 1% - New MPA Ad Campaign
I believe we're all very much excited about the MPA Marketing Coalition's initiative to grab the attention of advertisers in all the right places in the media. So, well done. They set out on a mission, pulled together key players from all teams and they have shown the industry just what can be done even on a highly limited association/member budget.

But what is missing?

Any true consumer database marketing and advertising expert will be the first to tell you that you start with the CONSUMER first and the advertisers will follow. I know I couldn't have been the only one who absolutely loved the Conde Nast agency's spin on the ads all over Manhattan and in print ads that had consumers hugging and kissing their magazines. Although those ads were intended to strongly reach the advertisers, it's the consumer driving the purchases, driving the advertising and driving the success of all sides of the publishing industry picture. It gives the the impression to the CONSUMER that THEY may be missing something and can't live without a title they love. That works for ALL who work in promoting the purchase of a magazine.

Let's not lose sight of the fact that these ads are perhaps the finest and most important work the MPA Coalition has done and we should be expanding it's use in all forms of media....in our own magazines, newspaper inserts, billboards, insert media---all forms that GET IT IN THE PUBLIC EYE as well as the key advertisers.
(Submitted by a CEO/Publisher)

BoSacks Readers Speak Out: Where are Today's Mentors?

"Every truth has four corners: as a teacher I give you one corner, and it is for you to find the other three." Confucius (China's most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, 551-479 BC)


BoSacks Readers Speak Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
Click here for Original Rant



Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
You struck a nerve. I take for granted all my graphic arts knowledge though think back to times when I knew far less and read ever pocket pal, SWOP manual and took a loop to every color bar to be sure all materials were in compliance or just to see how another prepress shop prepared their materials. You state you were inquisitive though I don't find this to be the general sentiment out there these days. It is more let me program my itunes, download my custom ring tone on company time and IM or text my buddies then get some work in between these activities. Attention span deficit! The people who take the time to think about how their activities in NY can make or break hours of production at some midwest printing plant are the rare ones. I have to fight the same inclination myself sometimes and get sidetracked too.

Usually if I make a press check, I realize what a tightly integrated thing this publisher/paper manufacturer/printer/distributor/consumer business this we take part in and those are not even all the stakeholders involved. A lot of jobs depend on it.
(Submitted by a Publisher)

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
I wholeheartedly agree. I too had many mentors and one in particular was George Carl Sr. He was inquisitive about everything and as such was a very detail oriented person. He made me aware of the things I had to know to do my job properly. Consequently ink was not just ink but a liquid that was made of chemical components for different printing processes, also paper was not just paper and printing plates took many forms.

I was also fortunate to have been in the business when there was more than one printing process. I made it my business to pass this information along to others. In all my dealings with my fellow workers I made it imperative that when they were taught something it was their responsibility to pass along what they learned.

It was why I enjoyed being so involved with the APPM and being Program Chairperson at least 5 times and President twice, it was a great association for learning. It has been 7 years since I retired and I know for a fact (and you have confirmed it) that there are no more mentors- they seem to have disappeared with the advent of computerization-I guess now we will have to rely on robots! Keep up the good work.
(Submitted by a retired Production Director)

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
Bo, I couldn't agree more with the article concerning mentoring. I was fortunate to have several mentors on my way up the corporate ladder and nurtured those relationships to maximize what I could learn from them.

Much of what I truly learned about the publishing business and people in business came from my daily interactions with my mentor in NYC. I spent three years learning from him, being challenged by him and often being frustrated or anxious with him. Adolph Auerbacher (Meredith Corporation) was one of the last of a dying breed of classic publishing mentors. He taught his lessons through parable and personal experiences. He often didn't answer the question or critique the decision made, but would get his message across through example or a story. You always wanted to do your best because you knew he expected it of you.

I find today many people are too busy making a name for themselves through their "hard work" or "last big sale" and miss the opportunities to listen and learn.

The idea of an internal publishing school makes lots of sense and was initiated at Meredith back in 1989. Their "publishing college" program continues today and has spawned many great careers, including mine.
(Submitted by an experienced industry veteran willing to mentor)

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
I completely agree where are today's mentors? You are right there does need to be a broader understanding of the roles and functions and cross pollination within publishing organizations.

I think more importantly the question is why does the industry limit itself by not developing and reaching out to those that get less exposure or are one level down within an organization. The industry continues to tap into the same key leaders. The future leaders are there Bo and ready to take a more upfront role in the industry. Tap into it.
(Submitted by a Director of Mfg. & Dist.)

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
The mentors are here, Bob. There are a lot of people like me who spend a great deal of time teaching and helping anyone who asks. But, a couple of things have changed in this industry - and not for the better, I'm afraid.

Companies aren't so willing to invest in training employees now - they don't send them to conferences or industry luncheons and events or pay for subscriptions to the trade press or encourage others in the company to help train the staff. The truth is there is not a lot of inhouse training going on in most companies today. I see it all the time in client companies and hear about it from other consultants to the industry. Too often when training is offered, some employees resent it because it "adds to the work load and stress". Yes, I just heard that sad story this week. Amazing, isn't it?

The trade press has stopped publishing real "how to" articles that concentrate on building core skills in each important publishing area. It's weird. No pme thinks it's important to understand the basics of anything anymore. A foundation for your profession just isn't exciting to most. It goes along with the attention deficit syndrome most people seem to value now.

Events managers expect seasoned professionals to show up a conferences on their time and dime to make money for someone else's company. A lot of experienced, talented speakers and seminar leaders have gotten off the speaking circuit because after 40 years, we think it's important to be compensated for travel expenses, if not for our time. So what I'm seeing now at these events is a lot of sales presentations for supplier's companies or the wisdom of people who haven't much experience. This type of conference content is a real event killer.

Lots of people mentored me. I owe my career and my business to them. I'm willing to do the same for others but often help is not wanted or easily available to those who do want it.

I hope you're able to encourage the industry to find a solution.
(Submitted by an Industry Consultant)

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
Right on. I've been in sales for more years than I want to remember. But, before I went into sales I was in magazine and book production. The knowledge I gained, the mentoring I had, is no longer there.

The problem goes beyond magazines, it's in book publishing also. Both magazine and book production are the very similar. Technology has encroached upon both. Publishers are scrambling to figure out what is happening to their business models.

Look at books. Google decides to scan books and the major book publishers raise the flag to say, you can't do that. But, Google did. The technology was there, but book publishers either did not know about it, did not understand it, or could not see the application.

How many publishers, magazine or book, understand XML?
(Submitted by a Printer)

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
Well said, Bob. My belief is that companies have cut "to the bone" and we're all working so much and at a fast pace that there is not time for mentoring & coaching, much less the quiet time for deep thinking about strategy development. The "younglings" are not able to learn about developing and maintaining relationships that will can them when its crunch time or they're in crisis, either personally or professionally. They don't know how to properly communicate verbally or in writing and rely too much on emails; all of which actually hurts their interpersonal skills. In fact, we just lost a young sales rep in training since he could not get over the fear of talking to people, relied too much on email contact, and lacked the business maturity to operate effectively in an office environment. A "very young & immature" 30 years old, did he not spend enough time being mentored or coached?

So how will business find the time to develop better mentoring programs? That's the $24 million question that could hinder business overall; not just the publishing industry. Thanks for your insightful musings. Keep up the good work!
(Submitted by a 20+ year employee on both sides of the printing and publishing industry)

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
I completely agree where are today's mentors? You are right there does need to be a broader understanding of the roles and functions and cross pollination within publishing organizations.

I think more importantly the question is why does the industry limit itself by not developing and reaching out to those that get less exposure or are one level down within an organization. The industry continues to tap into the same key leaders. The future leaders are there Bo and ready to take a more upfront role in the industry. Tap into it.
(Submitted by a Director of Mfg. & Dist.)

Re: BoSacks Speaks Out: Where are Today's Mentors?
Bob, I consider myself one of the real lucky one's. Your mentorship of me back in the mid-1980's at xxx- xxx publishing, was excellent. You opened my mind to ways of thinking that were extraordinary then and now. The two most special golden Bo-rules that I remember are the following:

Never panic. . . there is always a solution if you look in the right place and ask the right questions.

And my very top favorite Bo-ism, that I have used in every application wherever possible is:
if something isn't working, see if it's plugged in.

That little gem is as deep and as good as anything Aristotle ever said and I have put it to good use over the years. (Submitted by a Senior Director of Mfg and Dst)

BoSacks Readers Speak Out: On Celebrity Titles

He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.”
Winston Churchill (British Orator, Author and Prime Minister during World War II. 1874-1965)


BoSacks Readers Speak Out: On Celebrity Titles
www.bosacks.com



RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: On Celebrity Titles
Honestly Bob, you need to get a grip.
Adults are reading less, because they are working more. We no longer work a 40-hr week but rather 60- 80 hrs. And when we get home—it’s time to spend with kids, lovers, etc. And those readers that once read books during commutes now have fun little trios that allow them to start working before arriving to the office.

Celebrity titles selling better on newsstands: Well, I’m sure that this has something to do with the fact that Wal-mart places celebrity mags in checkout lines and only celebrity magazines. And even though consumers believe they are spending less time in self-checkout lines, I’m sure the stats would surprise us all. Or, if you want to restrict this conversation to the big cities—when was the last time you stopped by a newsstand for coffee? Find the right magazine and sell it through the right chain—such as Travel and Leisure sold through Starbucks—that’s a nice pairing.

Calm down, Bob—the industry just needs a crash course in Freakanomics and then we could construct a battle plan.
(Submitted by a Publishing Data Manager)

RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: On Celebrity Titles
There are good reasons to be wary when discussing studies, particularly when communicated by the media. The NEA study doesn't say that reading has declined 10%. It says that "literary reading" has declined. The study defines literary reading as novels, short stories, plays, and poetry. It doesn't include philosophy, essays, history, narrative non-fiction, or other types of writing that one might consider literary. According to that definition, magazines by and large don't exist. Gay Talese's "Frank Sinatra Has A Cold"? Doesn't exist. E.B. White's Talk of the Town pieces? They don't exist. Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief? Doesn't exist.
(Submitted by a Writer)

RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: On Celebrity Titles
Agreed, the widespread focus on celebrity titles suggests the focus on beauty instead of substance that’s prevalent in this society. It’s the gradual dumbing down of the American empire.
(Submitted by an Industry Supplier)

RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: On Celebrity Titles
Bo, You talk about celebrity magazines. What a joke. These folks are just reporting the garbage that the other media has conjured up. Britney Spears was a fabricated thing set up by the media folks to do what, sell her talent? no, she had no talent. What she did have was exploitive parents who allowed the media to use her as a symbol for the young women and parents who bought into the hype. . .
(Submitted by a Paper Person)

RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: On Celebrity Titles
for the record it is not about how many you sell these days but how profitable n/stand is.
One - does n/stand number continue to help fill-in the rate base.?
Two- if you take 100,000 out of the draw at $.50 x 50 weeks=$2,500,000 in saving, + increase cost per copy - so some drop off in sales looks bad but $.50- 1.00 more a copy viola you make more money.
(Submitted by a Senior Director of Mfg and Dst)

RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: On Celebrity Titles
Bo, I have been a reader of yours for over twelve years and in that time you have proven to be an accurate and consistent visionary and industry pundit. You pushed CTP and PDF before anyone else had even heard to them. I have always found your no nonsense publishing insights practical, pragmatic and above all else delightfully honest.

But now I see that I must add another accolade to your repertoire . . . that of mind reader.
I have been fuming lately over the very subject you just vented on. I am a multi-title publisher with what I think are quality books with an excellent editorial package.
We have a respectable performance on the newsstand, but I am as horrified as you are that the celebrity titles have such a giant and disproportionate share of the market. And a market when viewed in total that seems to be in real trouble. As always thanks for the consistency the amazing prolific continuity.
(Submitted by a Publisher)

RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: On Celebrity Titles
I too get discouraged at the popularity of titles that provide information with no value to society, or even to one’s personal life. What a waste of precious time to read such things, I think.

But what does encourage me--based on what I see in the market and also what I myself feel when browsing the giant newsstand in NYC’s Penn Station (where I often deliberately miss my train home)--is that the niche enthusiast and hobby publications seem to be doing a fine job, and are staying healthy, even with audience numbers that aren’t remotely near that of the titles we hear about when our business is highlighted in the consumer media.

When it comes to titles like Motorcyclist; Boating; Ski; Digital Camera; Guitar Player; Fine Gardening; Golf; Backpacker; and all of the other hundreds of laser- focused titles I snoop through, it is so clear to me that they always succeed at sparking the imagination and transporting the reader to a relaxed yet excited state of mind, all while teaching them something related to a discipline, and creating community too.

Put another way: Holding a stitched bundle of laminated paper can be a transforming experience. How amazing is that?

We all know that the Web is all about letting people find their desired niches quickly and easily, so being a generalist title, in print or in electrons, is only going to be harder with each passing day. But that’s no reason for any of us to despair. Niches are more interesting— to many consumers, and to me as a media professional. That makes niche businesses eminently viable in the long run, and it makes me feel good about our business, regardless of the popularity of celebrity titles and the relative lack of interest in other generalist titles.
(Submitted by an Editorial Director)

RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: On Celebrity Titles
Bob, The root cause is more alarming. Less than 70% of 9th graders graduate from high school. We have a bigger problem than novels, short stories, plays, etc. If you need the exact state-by-state for an upcoming “rant,” let me know, and I’m sure I can find the source information for you . . .
(Submitted by a publisher and printer)

RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: On Celebrity Titles
Here's the deal- NOBODY HAS ANY TIME TO READ ANYMORE. USA Today figured that out in 1982 or circa 12 BI (Before Internet). It's even truer today.

Now that everyone is "wired in" all of the time via cell phones and other mobile communication devices- work never goes away, school never goes away, friends never go away and family never goes away. Let's be honest, sometimes we want to be alone with our thoughts (or perhaps to read leisure material) but almost everyone (including me) is afraid to unplug for fear of missing something "important". Downtime in a car was taken away by the advent of cell phones. Downtime on a commuter train was replaced by working on the laptop and then the wireless PDA. Downtime on weekends and even vacation disappeared long ago. Soon, that last bastion of escape, the airplane, will allow wireless communication during flight making your iPod essential travel gear lest you want to listen to Mr. or Ms. Big Shot do all their "very big and important" deals all the way from Point A to Point B.

Add this to the fact that today's parents are obsessively involved with their children and that more families are trying to balance 2 careers and their kids social, sports and educational calendars and I've got to ask, are we really wondering why nobody reads "literature" anymore?

As for the celebrity titles- I would bet my house that less than half of the people who purchase these magazines actually read them. They are designed to consume photos and captions in less than 30 minutes. I have watched my daughter go through 3 weekly titles in less than ½ hour. We're not exactly talking about The New Yorker or Vanity Fair here. These publishers are the PT Barnums of our time. They're just giving the masses what they want.

I've got to go now. American Idol is about to start.
(Submitted by an Industry Supplier)

RE: BoSacks Speaks Out: On Celebrity Titles
In large part, we’re back to the government schools again with this problem. Our industry is a creature of our culture and our culture is headed down the crapper. Kids can’t read, never learn a love of reading. This is especially true for the boys who the lady teachers put on Ritalin because they won’t act like girls. But take heart! At least they learn to put condoms on bananas and are protected from the effects of second hand prayer.

None of this gets better – not culturally, not morally, not intellectually, not economically, not anything – until we close the government schools and let kids be schooled by people who have their educational development in mind rather than their political indoctrination.
(Submitted by a Printer)