Are Publishers the right Man for the Job?

In talking about business models here is one worth discussing.

If you were going to go sailing in treacherous waters, who would you want captain your ship? Perhaps the travel agent that sold you that trip? I don’t think so.

Where is it written in stone that a best practice for a business is to put at the helm of the ship a person with little knowledge of that business? It has been a mystery to me the continued predilection of the publishing community to take very successful salespeople and anoint them with the title of publisher.

A publisher is in charge of the whole enchilada. They should be fluent in the disciplines of circulation, accounting principles, manufacturing and production. I have lots of friends who are publishers and most have agreed privately that although it’s good for their ego, and the fact those advertisers like to see upper management, the publisher. But that it takes a long long time to learn the other disciplines of the business environment. What do you think?

What Happens to the Newsstand Industry?

Here is a sobering thought. What happens to the newsstand industry when the current trend of celebrity fascination ends? It will happen you know, in media it’s all about trends. Some are long lasting and some are a flash in the pan. The celebrity boom in magazine sales will one day be a celebrity bust, no pun intended.

It seems to be happening right now with the teen magazines. Well these teens are the next group of readers, we hope, of your magazines.

Let’s do a quick review. Newsstand sales have been at best flat for the last 15 years. Those stats include the great successes of the celebrity titles. If you take out the celebrity numbers, the viewing of the resultant graph is much more sobering, if not scary. What do you think?

BoSacks Speaks Out: The Blog Of War

BoSacks Speaks Out: The Blog Of War

BoSacks Speaks Out: BLOGS are a new and developing form of journalism.They are still in their formative years, under development and growing rapidly. BLOGS have in a very short space of time, toppled politicians and media personalities.The same can also be said for traditional media. But traditional media is somewhat slower to report and not quite so anonymous. There are some interesting aspects of BLOGGERS' that contain potentially unchecked and abusive use of Internet power. It is a necessary line of logic to ponder.

We are in uncharted waters. Democracy needs total freedom of the press to thrive. That freedom links an informed public and the political process. As I try to hold that thought, I am troubled by the terrible power of an under-read public and its susceptibility to unsubstantiated "facts." It is a paradox that will unfold right before our eyes in the next few years. At the very least, I think it is fair to say that we are more vulnerable to media manipulation than ever before. Yes, there were the years of yellow journalism and media contrivances before, but I think we are on the edge of something new and far more powerful.

What are your thoughts?
BoSacks
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