2006 MPA-IMAG Conference - Photos and Highlights

May 11, 2006

3rd Annual MPA-IMAG Independent Publishers Conference May 10 &11, 2006 | W Hotel Union Square | New York City

Photos & Highlights | Podcasts | Keynote Speaker | Program Overview



Photos & Highlights

 Special Report from the 2006 MPA-IMAG Leadership Conference for Independent Publishers

Nearly 100 magazine publishers and other senior executives attended MPA-IMAGs third annual Leadership Conference for Independent Publishers, held May 10-11, at the W Hotel-Union Square in Manhattan.  Following are highlights and photos from select sessions from the summit.

If I Knew Then What I Know Now

Brad Fayfield began the panel by introducing himself as both a publisher and a small manufacturerhis unique take on what independent publishers do in the magazine business. Fayfield asked the panel about what elements of their business approach they would change with the benefit of the knowledge and experience they have now.

Eric Rayman of the recently shuttered Budget Living still believes magazines viability.  He said that Budget Living grew very fast with strong newsstand sales numbers, but that same success did not allow them to develop internal infrastructures at a more measured pace that he thought was ideal. Rayman also thought that a reduction in paper expenditures could have freed up their budgets for other initiatives. He also shared that the magazines title, while a big hit with consumers, alienated advertisers and agencies during the planning process and was an occasionally an obstacle.

Tom Winsor said the company could have invested in the web earlier. He also said that vertical niche has been his area of concentration and that growth must come organically in such a category. He is not a believer in pushing circ to increase rate base and insists on profitable circulation. He also recommended less time thinking and more time doing. In terms of mistakes, he offered, You have to make them.

Susan Caughman cited expansion on the web as her biggest concern at the moment, as the Internet affords a great opportunity for publishers to have direct contact with the community they serve. She believes smaller publishers can grow audiences organically without big development costs. She also thought it a better investment to hire experienced talent as staffers, as opposed to newcomers who require lower compensation but more training.

The Independent Publishers Relationship with Editors

Moderator David Foster opened the session by stating, When I got into the magazine business, the feeling was editors were a dime a dozen.  Today its all changed.  You need a good evangelist in todays market.

David Hershkovits agreed.  The role of the editor has to change, he said.  When I was a writer, I hated my publisher.  I thought all they cared about was money.

An editor who understands the business process is important, said David Lusterman. Other panelist agreed that it was important to hire editors who were not only good with words, but had a strong business sense and a strong public presence to help promote the editorial brand.

Bryan Welch urged publishers to embrace change and have a broader knowledge of all sides of the business.  I came up with people on the business side who didnt understand what makes editors tick, he said.  We cant get away with that anymore.

Welch added that his top editors are getting paid more than ever.   He did note that salaries for entry-level positions are still low.  People who come to our business [on the edit side] should have a real hunger, Welch said.

All the panelists said that they were in the business of community building and content aggregation.

Were not just about print on paper, said Welch.  Were nimble. Well try things. That gives us an advantage over the big publishing companies.

Editorial Leadership for a Multi-Channel Brand

Moderator Jay  Harris, Publisher, Mother Jones; Steve Hedlund, President, Ehlert Publishing Group; Kristin van Ogtrop, Managing Editor, Real Simple; and Steven Waldman, CEO, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Beliefnet.

Tales of success and challenges of expanding magazines off the page to other platforms were swapped at the panel Editorial Leadership for a Multi-Channel Brand.

Our involvement in the Internet has been a hit or miss proposition, confessed Steve Hedlund.  His companys new emphasis is video and his editors have been working for almost a year to incorporate more video on his magazines website.  We hope to take dollars from television, he noted.  We are slowly getting our editors on camera.  Weve gotten a few of them to pick up a video camera when they review products.

Steve Waldman, who worked many years as a magazine journalist, said that virtually his entire staff came from print.  What Ive found is that magazine people have the easiest time transitioning to the web because they are skilled in packaging, he said.  For instance, every magazine editor knows that readers read the captions first.  The web is packaging in the extreme.  A lot of packaging skills are useful in producing a website.

None of the panelists thought that websites would ultimately replace print magazines.  The magazine is the hub, said Kristin van Ogtrop.  The brand extensions are the spokes.

She also described the reaction of some of her editors when they saw the first 30-minute Real Simple television show that airs on PBS.  They were pretty critical, van Ogtrop said.  However it wasnt fatal.  Editors are very proprietary of their magazines.

Copyright and Licensing: Protecting Your Assets in the Digital Age"

Eric Rayman, Counsel at Miller Korzenik Sommers LLP, and Stephanie Sandberg, President of Sandberg Consulting

Together, Eric Rayman and Stephanie Sandberg presented copyright challenges and licensing advice for publishers looking to move off the printed page and into the digital space.

User-generated is going to be the new watchword from a content perspective, stated Sandberg. 

In the wake of hugely popular websites like YouTube, which broadcasts user-posted videos that are sometimes allegedly manipulated from copyrighted media or feature copyrighted material, the concept of fair use is increasingly contested. This will continue to be a gray area as technology further enables consumers to create and disseminate content.  In the meantime, YouTube has posted terms that address copyright issues on their website, Sandberg noted.

Content reproduction and archiving in the digital space were also discussed. The context in which magazine content is republished is a primary consideration. For a publisher to republish a freelancers work in any format different from its original onethis includes onlinethe freelancer must be compensated. Advertisements and photographs are likewise subject to copyright laws. Sandberg cited The New Yorker as an example of a magazine that was able to publish its archival content digitally without copyright infringement through exact reproduction of pages on DVDs. 

In terms of licensing, Rayman and Sandberg counseled publishers to secure a license to own and re-purpose content, to maintain an inventory of what content they own (and dont), and to make sure that licenses include to the right to use the content digitally and electronically. 

How We Are Making Money Now

Moderator Nancy O. Small, President, Hallmark Publishing; Joe Landry, Senior Vice President / Publisher, LPI Media at PlanetOut Inc.; Teresa Stack, President, The Nation; and Gretchen Teichgraeber, President & CEO, Scientific American, Inc.

Independent publishers shared real-world examples of how they generated revenue at their companies during the last panel discussion on the second and final day of MPAs independent magazine conference.

According to PlanetOuts Joe Landry, Im always looking for more money, and I dont have a lot of magazine to spend.  One of the companys more successful money-making endeavors is the travel supplement Out Traveler. With its own editorial team and circulation of approximately 200,000, Out Traveler is polybagged quarterly with Out and The Advocate and has generated a sort of halo effect for the magazines, which have seen more travel advertising as a result of the supplement.

Scientific American is a very strong global brand, noted Gretchen Teichgraeber, despite the American in the companys name. A long-time international publishing player, Scientific American publishes 19 different editions of the magazine and distributes in most English-speaking countries. Depending on the business potential in each market, the publishers activities abroad take any of three forms: as a wholly-owned subsidiary, as a joint-venture with a local media entity, or as licensed editions.  In choosing international partners, because of the long-term nature of the relationship, Teichgraeber advised, You better know them, like them, trust them."

Theresa Stack of The Nation, in one of their efforts to reverse the magazines admitted long-time history of revenue declines, saw a revenue-generator in The Nation Associates, a fundraising program that sees an average donation of $65 from a pool of 30,000 loyal readers.  The monetary gift is not tax-deductible, and depending on the level of donation, gets the generous Associate a subscription to an insider newsletter, discounts on books written by The Nation contributors, invitations to special events and more.

 
This MPA-IMAG Leadership Conference was sponsored by: