Lights at the End of the Tunnel?

Magazine publishers are going through a torrid time. Yesterday I rang someone at a leading business/finance magazine for whom we have done a test file. But we couldn't talk because he was having to digest a decision announced yesterday about job reductions in the company. Some of his staff are affected.

We agreed to talk in a few days. What do you say? It is not helpful to point out that if they had been doing a digital edition in 2008 they probably would have 'saved' one of those jobs. With these middle to big magazine companies it is very hard to get anyone to think constructively about the potential they have for growing digital subscriptions and a digital audience. This is one reason why we tend to work best with the smaller magazine companies where decisions are made closer to the burning rubber on the road. Advertising Age thinks that e-books, digital editions are one of the bright spots for 2009. They are right about that....