Mr. Magazine

For all the talk about the death of print media, there seems to be new magazines cropping up all the time and existing magazines keep reinventing themselves. I know that's not just wishful thinking. Anyone who passes by the magazines racks at Borders or Barnes & Noble has to notice that there are magazines devoted to smart phones (and even broken down to brand) as well as every new must-have gadget. If you're really addicted to your smart phone, you can surf to one of my favorite sites, www.mrmagazine.com.

Mr. Magazine is Professor Samir Husni of Ole Miss. He has been observing magazine trends for at least two decades and is the go to person for anyone who is considering launching a new magazine. That's not my plan, but I do love his blog, which is on his website. You won't find industry gossip on his blog, but you will read interviews and reports about conferences and new magazine launches. You will also find some great soundbites such as graphic designer Erica Endicott's tweet about his speaking at CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) on March 24, 2010: "It's like a tent revival in here with Samir Husni. People are almost shouting 'amen'!"

Please don't take offense, but here's another great soundbite, this one from George Lois, former art director of Esquire Magazine on reading a magazine on an iPad: "It's O.K., I guess. But magazines will never die because there is a visceral feeling of having that thing in your hands and turning the pages. It's so different on the screen. It's the difference between looking at a woman and having sex with her."

No doubt a lot of people were shouting "amen" to that.

Posted by Sherry Shameer Cohen.

Print vs. Digital Reading

At last evening's program with literary agents Alexandra Machinist, Bob Diforio and Michelle Brower, people at our table discussed the pros and cons of e-readers. We realize that e-readers are not going away, especially since the innovative, albeit pricey iPad is expected to change the way we read. Or will it? All of us love the printed page. You just can't snuggle in bed with a Kindle. You can't read it in the bathtub without wondering if you're going to hear a sizzle if it falls into the water. Toddlers, although able to discriminate between real electronics and toys, love to turn pages.

In my humble opinion, the success of the iPad will depend on the following: 1) that there will be an economic turnaround in the foreseeable future because Apple's pricing is much higher than that of competitors and 2) that it will live up to its promises.

The most positive thing we heard about the iPad, besides the color graphics, is that it authors will get more money for books because Apple is willing to set the price of e-books higher than Amazon does. High time! It's hard to accept the constant downsizing of our income. The writing profession is very labor-intensive. It's not just typing our thoughts or the words we utter. It includes research, interviewing, writing, rewriting and marketing. We are far from overpaid for what we do.

As for the claims that the iPad will save newspapers and magazines, we're not sure. We have witnessed the destruction of periodicals by MBAs who are after the bottom line at, well, any cost. Sounds like a variation of the page from Amazon.com, which has lost money in an attempt to gain market share.

Posted by Sherry Shameer Cohen.