Steve Barrett, Media Week, 10 July 2007, 00:00am

Magazines are still a force to be reckoned with

I am a magazine editor: it's what I do for a living. As such, you wouldn't expect me to be anything but upbeat about the future of magazines - even in this convergent and multimedia age where print media is under the cosh.

Certainly, what magazines represent is changing. So are the jobs of an editor, the staff that produce content and the related sales and production teams. An editor is just as likely to be hosting a TV broadcast interview, being the public face of the magazine brand in the media, chairing a conference, overseeing awards judging, supervising breaking news updates, forums and blogs online, and dreaming up more extensions to the core brand, which I still believe is the printed product that plops through your letterbox or into your in-tray each week.

Magazines still have the USP that Future's chief executive Stevie Spring describes as the "bed, bog, bath" factor. They are portable, flexible and engaging.

Dylan Jones is also a magazine editor - he is the front man for GQ and has been involved in a host of high-profile consumer magazines throughout his career, as you can see from our profile of him in this week's issue (see page 14).

Jones is also still bullish about the magazine business. As he points out, it's one of the few media environments where people are as interested in the ads as the editorial. He has embraced digital, but believes the printed product retains an unmatched dynamism and sophistication.

And, as this week's feature shows, there are many other reasons to think that magazines have a great future (see page 22). More magazines are being read than ever.

The medium is still growing. For all the developments taking place in the digital space, the essence of a classic magazine just can't be captured and replicated online.

In his 2006 book, The Last Magazine, David Renard suggests that magazines in their traditional form will be all but defunct within 25 years. I take issue with his analysis and, like Jones, have faith that the magazine will prosper.

In its traditional and evolving digital formats, magazines will continue to offer a unique experience for readers and a unique environment within which advertisers can showcase their brands.

- Steve Barrett is editor of Media Week, steve.barrett@haymarket.com.