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Wednesday, December 2, 2009 | 11:07am
Although Giant Mag Closes Amid Print Format’s Demise, Hip Hop Isn’t Taking Notes. Why?
While yeah it might be cool to have a magazine, why sell swim trunks in a blizzard?
Yet another magazine is closing up shop. This time its the Radio One owned, Giant Magazine which has announced it has suspended its print publication and will now publish online only according to the Washington Business Journal.
The lifestyle magazine which was published twice per month was purchased by Cathy Hughes and Radio One in 2007 for $270,000. As a sign of the economy and the evolution of the print format, leadership has chosen to focus its efforts on the sites online entity, GiantLife.com.
“The economic downturn has had a tremendous impact on print media and we had to make the decision to suspend printing the publication,” said Tom Newman, president of Interactive One in a statement. “Additionally we recognize the increase in demand for real time information and see this as an opportunity to leverage our existing robust online platform to better serve Giant consumers and advertisers through our interactive medium.”
The details beyond this are sketchy and there is no clear word on exactly what will happen to current subscriptions.
Message to all my budding entrepreneurs out there in the Nation. If you’re thinking of or planning to start a magazine STOP! Recently, I’ve been told by a number of the young Hip Hop business minded that they plan to start a magazine of some sort. WHY?! Are you not paying attention to what’s going on? Yeah it would be crazy cool to own and operate a nice 200 page glossy but the reality is its been years since I visited the newsstand and I’m not alone. I do however spend almost all day on my computer and mobile device.
I say this not to discourage entrepreneurs (although it should) but part of being a good business person is having vision and forsight. If you can’t build a business that works within the CURRENT evenflow of the economy it won’t work…plain and simple. You need to check your own desires and feelings at the door. Lets start being smart here people. Quiet as kept people do buy things other than cool shit every day but unfortunately us folk have too much pride to sell it.
FILED IN Business & Marketing, Editorials, Web 2.0
You’re right, of course, about the industry dying. But that’s too bad.
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I think there MIGHT be a market for a magazine, but it would have to be a monthly, and would have to be something that isn’t timely, like news.
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Maybe a satire magazine or something. Something you can read while in the bathroom or on the bus or any of the other places where people don’t have a computer handy.
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I don’t have a hand-held computer, like a blackberry or phone with internet access, but I would think the screen would be too small to comfortably read.
Printed periodicals are dead. I get two magazines a month, Discover and Black Enterprise. I subscribed to both over three years ago, ordered one year and got the second free. The third year was automatically billed to my credit card. Even though I enjoy both magazines, I would never have continued my subscribtion. I currently read Time, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Newsweek, Leatherneck and The Marine Corps Times all via the web or second hand. I get my view of the ladies via the Fatback Chef, no need to purchase what the Chef gives for free. Anything else want or need to read I find on the web and I know many other who do the same. I really don’t know how any magazine stays afloat nowadays.
Thanks for the plug.