Oh Comely - Industry case study
Iceberg Press
Visit the Iceberg Press website - particularly the Who Are We page and the Why Are We Here page. Read the content and then answer the following questions:
1) Why did the people behind Iceberg Press set it up?
"To bring the best of the spirit of the independent publishing scene to a wider audience using the skills and knowledge we gained working for some of the world's biggest publishing companies."
2) What is the Iceberg Press mission statement? (It's on the Why Are We Here page and is a series of statements).
It's all about the audience.
Chase the work, not the money.
Compromise isn't our friend.
We will always make time for ideas.
We are stronger when we work with others.
We want good people to work in a good place.
Every year we will help a cause that matters.
We believe in a thing called Print.
3) What are the two magazines that Iceberg Press publishes?
The Simple Things and Oh Comely
4) What similarities do you notice between The Simple Things magazine and Oh Comely?
one similarity I noticed between the two were that they both niche market magazines and they dont appeal to the mass audience but instead target and aim to improve for their magazine by making their audience feel included through segments in the magazine that give the readers a sense of identity.
5) What differences can you find between Hearst UK, publisher of Men's Health, and Iceberg Press?
The main contrast is that Hearst Communications is an unquestionably 'standard' magazine than Iceberg Press, as in the media items distributed by Hearst ,, for example, Men's Health and Cosmopolitan, are intended for mass crowds as they contain standard substance which the majority need, though Iceberg Press is a distributer for items with exceptionally specialty, little groups of onlookers. This specifically mirrors the points of the two combinations; Hearst means to attract the majority for benefit through the distribution of predominant press items, though the plan for Iceberg Press is substantially more than production for benefit, maybe more to do with inventiveness and advancing a sound way of life.
Writer's Edit journal article
Read this excellent Writer's Edit academic journal article on the independent magazine industry and answer the following questions:
1) What is the definition of an independent print magazine?
The independant print magazine is portrayed as "distributed without the budgetary help of an expansive organization or foundation in which the producers control production and conveyance… "autonomous" in soul because of a dissident supervisor or distributer who drives the magazine in an exploratory, noncommercial course".
2) What does Hamilton (2013) suggest about independent magazines in the digital age?
"A small but growing body of evidence suggests that small printed magazines are quietly thriving even as the global newspaper and book industries falter” (Hamilton 2013).
3) What is the aim of Kinfolk magazine and what similarities can you draw with Oh Comely?
The aim is to: find “ways for readers to simplify their lives, cultivate community and spend more time with their friends and family” (Kinfolk 2014).
This is like Oh Comely as the two magazines advance and commend the part of "network" as a piece of their perusers' regular daily existences'. Likewise, the points are adjusted through the feeling that both urge perusers to appreciate the easier joys of life.
4) Why does the article suggest that independent magazines might be succeeding while global magazine publishers such as Bauer are struggling?
Magazines created by vast organisations like Bauer Media and News Limited in Australia are attempting to stop others from moving on the web. Those behind free magazines utilise computerised improvements further boosting their fortune, and have a solid online numbers. These makers set their own particular terms and depend on coordinated effort to accomplish them.
5) How do independent magazines launch? Look at the example of Alphabet Family Journal.
The example of AFL in the article used a crowd-funding campaign for its first issue that was released. The funding was initiated by a every successful short film produced advertising and outlining the basics of the magazine, which generated enough attention on social media over the course of 3 years, so that enough money could be raised by online supporters.
6) What does the article suggest about how independent publishers use digital media to target their niche audiences?
Independent magazines resourcefully utilise technological advances as well as social media to operate. Thanks to developments in areas such as digital printing and electronic file transfer, “people with expert knowledge of a special interest area can potentially take advantage of the low barriers to entry in the industry to originate their own magazine titles and use contract printers to create the finished product” (Cox and Mowatt 2008).
7) Why is it significant that independent magazines are owned and created by the same people? How does this change the creative process and direction of the magazine?
This will clarify the fact that the intentions and aims behind the production of the magazines are genuine and are not solely created for mere profit- the picture this creates is strong as it shows that all the creative aspects chosen for the magazine are intentional in order to fit the ideologies of the owner- the ideologies which the readers also believe in.
8) What does the article suggest regarding the benefits of a 'do-it-yourself' approach to creating independent magazines?
Founders prize their small-scale for the basis for the intimate and creative character of their work. They opt for micro-entrepreneurship because independence will give them a sense of authorship and ownership: it is the best way for them to develop their own work” (Leadbetter and Oakley 1999).
9) The article discusses the audience appeal of print. Why might audiences love the printed form in the digital age?
The growth of independent magazines reflects a deeper cultural change in the way print magazines are now created and read. A culture of collaboration, creative passion, appreciation of graphic design and physical print all represent an alternative to the conventions of mainstream mass media. Those editors and founders of independent magazines are producing cultural records that will one day represent the changing concept of print magazines as people increasingly incorporate the digital into their everyday lives.
10) What are the challenges in terms of funding and distributing an independent magazine?
Independent magazines do not have access to the platforms and money as mainstream conglomerates, therefore generating and attracting a niche audience who would be willing to pay for their content is fairly difficult.
Irish Times feature
Now read this short feature in the Irish Times on the growth of independent magazines and answer the following questions:
1) Why are independent magazines so popular?
These magazines are different from mainstream mags; they include alternative subject matter which agree's with the ideologies of specific niche audiences who see these published magazines as collectible objects rather than just a magazine.
2) Why is the magazine publishing industry set up to favour the big global conglomerates?
This is because global conglomerates look to produce magazines with mainstream conventions that suit a larger audience, as well as mainstream ideologies. This is what attracts a large audience which would make the highest amount of profit with lowest production price. On the other hand, independent magazines focus on quality over quantity, therefore they may have a higher production price. Their alternative content and views will deter most audiences from purchasing the magazine, therefore their profits will also be very low, not maximized like mainstream magazines are designed to do.
3) What does the article suggest regarding finding an audience for an independent magazine?
"Make your subject too broad (a magazine about football) and you will get lost in the crowd. Make it too narrow (a magazine about redheads who support Bohemians) and your audience will be too small. Get it right (a magazine about League of Ireland fan culture) and you just might have a chance. And once you know who your audience is, many other elements will fall into place. To take the example of the League of Ireland magazine, you are going to sell it outside football matches, which means it can’t be too big, or too heavy. So, something closer to a zine than a large, perfect-bound magazine."
4) What are the challenges for magazine distributors?
Shipping boxes of magazines is expensive, and with publishers taking all the risk (they pay for both shipping, and if the magazines don’t sell, the price of shipping them back), it’s key that publishers focus on getting as many direct sales online as possible. This goes back to building an audience - the more people aware you exist, the more people will purchase your magazine. That conversion rate will probably be less than 1 per cent, which shows how important it is to start building an audience before you publish.
5) The article suggests that many independent magazines only make money by diversifying into other products. What examples do they give?
The example given in the article is, if you produce a League of Ireland fan culture magazine, you can host events, sell graphic prints, T-shirts and maybe set up a Patreon account where you can host football podcasts.
TCO interview with Ruth Jamieson
Finally, read this excellent interview on the TCO London website with Ruth Jamieson, who has written a book on the renaissance of the independent magazine sector. Answer the following questions:
1) Why does Ruth Jamieson suggest there's a renaissance in independent publishing?
Jamieson suggests that "It’s never been easier to start your own magazine and find an audience. There’s never been a better time to be a magazine fan. The whole ‘Print is dead’ narrative has turned out to be only half true. The internet has killed, or is killing, print, but only print of the 10-minutes-of-distraction-before-you-chuck-it-in-the-bin variety."
2) What are the common themes for successful independent magazines?
"Doing something no one else is doing, and offering something digital media can’t offer. That and great art direction and editorial, a focus on the reader rather than the advertiser, and having a strong, unique idea at the magazine’s core. Oh and investing in the magazine as an object, so, good paper stock, expert printing, well-researched, well-produced content. Overall, these magazines are defined by their attention to detail and commitment to lovingly crafting something people will want to keep forever rather than throw in the recycling bin the next day."
3) How many of these aspects can you find in Oh Comely? Make specific reference to the CSP pages where possible.
One viewpoint apparent in Oh Comely is the possibility that they are accomplishing something no one else is improving the situation illustration, the festival of ladies, specifically, minorities. For instance, one page incorporated a young lady of Somali legacy who has contributed work into laws against FGM. This is something that we would not normally find in standard magazines. Besides, the moderate format and general style of the magazine influences it to feel more like a memento/collectible question as opposed to only a heap of pages offering current news. Things being what they are, each issue contains accomplishments in time which the peruser would be intrigued n keeping. This thought of a "protest" is something the web can't offer.
4) How does Jamieson see the future for the magazine industry?
As more awesome mags dispatch, the newspaper kiosks get more aggressive. Along these lines, I think we'll see more magazines go back and forth. Yet, that the standard will keep on rising. There truly hasn't been a superior time to be a magazine fan. We'll likewise observe the standard beginning to look more like the independents. They need to gain from independents on the off chance that they need to survive. Along these lines, there'll be greater interest in substance and more spotlight on delivering a quality item, more collectible issues, a move far from attempting to contend with the web and towards doing things no one but print can do. We'll likewise observe standard magazine fanning out past their print issues to offer different things, similar to occasions, items, instructive projects and encounters.
5) How might this future impact Oh Comely? Do you think Oh Comely will survive the next five years - and why?
I feel that since Oh Comely was one of the first of its kind to show up in the specialty magazine advertise, it will acquire a place above later autonomous magazines which will start to rise. Be that as it may, as more magazines rise hoping to focus on similar groups of onlookers, Oh Comely will have real rivalry, and thus may lose a few perusers. In general, I do trust that Oh Comely will be liable to deals dropping, anyway I trust that their peruser base will stay faithful along these lines they will survive this.
Visit the Iceberg Press website - particularly the Who Are We page and the Why Are We Here page. Read the content and then answer the following questions:
1) Why did the people behind Iceberg Press set it up?
"To bring the best of the spirit of the independent publishing scene to a wider audience using the skills and knowledge we gained working for some of the world's biggest publishing companies."
2) What is the Iceberg Press mission statement? (It's on the Why Are We Here page and is a series of statements).
It's all about the audience.
Chase the work, not the money.
Compromise isn't our friend.
We will always make time for ideas.
We are stronger when we work with others.
We want good people to work in a good place.
Every year we will help a cause that matters.
We believe in a thing called Print.
3) What are the two magazines that Iceberg Press publishes?
The Simple Things and Oh Comely
4) What similarities do you notice between The Simple Things magazine and Oh Comely?
one similarity I noticed between the two were that they both niche market magazines and they dont appeal to the mass audience but instead target and aim to improve for their magazine by making their audience feel included through segments in the magazine that give the readers a sense of identity.
5) What differences can you find between Hearst UK, publisher of Men's Health, and Iceberg Press?
The main contrast is that Hearst Communications is an unquestionably 'standard' magazine than Iceberg Press, as in the media items distributed by Hearst ,, for example, Men's Health and Cosmopolitan, are intended for mass crowds as they contain standard substance which the majority need, though Iceberg Press is a distributer for items with exceptionally specialty, little groups of onlookers. This specifically mirrors the points of the two combinations; Hearst means to attract the majority for benefit through the distribution of predominant press items, though the plan for Iceberg Press is substantially more than production for benefit, maybe more to do with inventiveness and advancing a sound way of life.
Writer's Edit journal article
Read this excellent Writer's Edit academic journal article on the independent magazine industry and answer the following questions:
1) What is the definition of an independent print magazine?
The independant print magazine is portrayed as "distributed without the budgetary help of an expansive organization or foundation in which the producers control production and conveyance… "autonomous" in soul because of a dissident supervisor or distributer who drives the magazine in an exploratory, noncommercial course".
2) What does Hamilton (2013) suggest about independent magazines in the digital age?
"A small but growing body of evidence suggests that small printed magazines are quietly thriving even as the global newspaper and book industries falter” (Hamilton 2013).
3) What is the aim of Kinfolk magazine and what similarities can you draw with Oh Comely?
The aim is to: find “ways for readers to simplify their lives, cultivate community and spend more time with their friends and family” (Kinfolk 2014).
This is like Oh Comely as the two magazines advance and commend the part of "network" as a piece of their perusers' regular daily existences'. Likewise, the points are adjusted through the feeling that both urge perusers to appreciate the easier joys of life.
4) Why does the article suggest that independent magazines might be succeeding while global magazine publishers such as Bauer are struggling?
Magazines created by vast organisations like Bauer Media and News Limited in Australia are attempting to stop others from moving on the web. Those behind free magazines utilise computerised improvements further boosting their fortune, and have a solid online numbers. These makers set their own particular terms and depend on coordinated effort to accomplish them.
5) How do independent magazines launch? Look at the example of Alphabet Family Journal.
The example of AFL in the article used a crowd-funding campaign for its first issue that was released. The funding was initiated by a every successful short film produced advertising and outlining the basics of the magazine, which generated enough attention on social media over the course of 3 years, so that enough money could be raised by online supporters.
6) What does the article suggest about how independent publishers use digital media to target their niche audiences?
Independent magazines resourcefully utilise technological advances as well as social media to operate. Thanks to developments in areas such as digital printing and electronic file transfer, “people with expert knowledge of a special interest area can potentially take advantage of the low barriers to entry in the industry to originate their own magazine titles and use contract printers to create the finished product” (Cox and Mowatt 2008).
7) Why is it significant that independent magazines are owned and created by the same people? How does this change the creative process and direction of the magazine?
This will clarify the fact that the intentions and aims behind the production of the magazines are genuine and are not solely created for mere profit- the picture this creates is strong as it shows that all the creative aspects chosen for the magazine are intentional in order to fit the ideologies of the owner- the ideologies which the readers also believe in.
8) What does the article suggest regarding the benefits of a 'do-it-yourself' approach to creating independent magazines?
Founders prize their small-scale for the basis for the intimate and creative character of their work. They opt for micro-entrepreneurship because independence will give them a sense of authorship and ownership: it is the best way for them to develop their own work” (Leadbetter and Oakley 1999).
9) The article discusses the audience appeal of print. Why might audiences love the printed form in the digital age?
The growth of independent magazines reflects a deeper cultural change in the way print magazines are now created and read. A culture of collaboration, creative passion, appreciation of graphic design and physical print all represent an alternative to the conventions of mainstream mass media. Those editors and founders of independent magazines are producing cultural records that will one day represent the changing concept of print magazines as people increasingly incorporate the digital into their everyday lives.
10) What are the challenges in terms of funding and distributing an independent magazine?
Independent magazines do not have access to the platforms and money as mainstream conglomerates, therefore generating and attracting a niche audience who would be willing to pay for their content is fairly difficult.
Irish Times feature
Now read this short feature in the Irish Times on the growth of independent magazines and answer the following questions:
1) Why are independent magazines so popular?
These magazines are different from mainstream mags; they include alternative subject matter which agree's with the ideologies of specific niche audiences who see these published magazines as collectible objects rather than just a magazine.
2) Why is the magazine publishing industry set up to favour the big global conglomerates?
This is because global conglomerates look to produce magazines with mainstream conventions that suit a larger audience, as well as mainstream ideologies. This is what attracts a large audience which would make the highest amount of profit with lowest production price. On the other hand, independent magazines focus on quality over quantity, therefore they may have a higher production price. Their alternative content and views will deter most audiences from purchasing the magazine, therefore their profits will also be very low, not maximized like mainstream magazines are designed to do.
3) What does the article suggest regarding finding an audience for an independent magazine?
"Make your subject too broad (a magazine about football) and you will get lost in the crowd. Make it too narrow (a magazine about redheads who support Bohemians) and your audience will be too small. Get it right (a magazine about League of Ireland fan culture) and you just might have a chance. And once you know who your audience is, many other elements will fall into place. To take the example of the League of Ireland magazine, you are going to sell it outside football matches, which means it can’t be too big, or too heavy. So, something closer to a zine than a large, perfect-bound magazine."
4) What are the challenges for magazine distributors?
Shipping boxes of magazines is expensive, and with publishers taking all the risk (they pay for both shipping, and if the magazines don’t sell, the price of shipping them back), it’s key that publishers focus on getting as many direct sales online as possible. This goes back to building an audience - the more people aware you exist, the more people will purchase your magazine. That conversion rate will probably be less than 1 per cent, which shows how important it is to start building an audience before you publish.
5) The article suggests that many independent magazines only make money by diversifying into other products. What examples do they give?
The example given in the article is, if you produce a League of Ireland fan culture magazine, you can host events, sell graphic prints, T-shirts and maybe set up a Patreon account where you can host football podcasts.
TCO interview with Ruth Jamieson
Finally, read this excellent interview on the TCO London website with Ruth Jamieson, who has written a book on the renaissance of the independent magazine sector. Answer the following questions:
1) Why does Ruth Jamieson suggest there's a renaissance in independent publishing?
Jamieson suggests that "It’s never been easier to start your own magazine and find an audience. There’s never been a better time to be a magazine fan. The whole ‘Print is dead’ narrative has turned out to be only half true. The internet has killed, or is killing, print, but only print of the 10-minutes-of-distraction-before-you-chuck-it-in-the-bin variety."
2) What are the common themes for successful independent magazines?
"Doing something no one else is doing, and offering something digital media can’t offer. That and great art direction and editorial, a focus on the reader rather than the advertiser, and having a strong, unique idea at the magazine’s core. Oh and investing in the magazine as an object, so, good paper stock, expert printing, well-researched, well-produced content. Overall, these magazines are defined by their attention to detail and commitment to lovingly crafting something people will want to keep forever rather than throw in the recycling bin the next day."
3) How many of these aspects can you find in Oh Comely? Make specific reference to the CSP pages where possible.
One viewpoint apparent in Oh Comely is the possibility that they are accomplishing something no one else is improving the situation illustration, the festival of ladies, specifically, minorities. For instance, one page incorporated a young lady of Somali legacy who has contributed work into laws against FGM. This is something that we would not normally find in standard magazines. Besides, the moderate format and general style of the magazine influences it to feel more like a memento/collectible question as opposed to only a heap of pages offering current news. Things being what they are, each issue contains accomplishments in time which the peruser would be intrigued n keeping. This thought of a "protest" is something the web can't offer.
4) How does Jamieson see the future for the magazine industry?
As more awesome mags dispatch, the newspaper kiosks get more aggressive. Along these lines, I think we'll see more magazines go back and forth. Yet, that the standard will keep on rising. There truly hasn't been a superior time to be a magazine fan. We'll likewise observe the standard beginning to look more like the independents. They need to gain from independents on the off chance that they need to survive. Along these lines, there'll be greater interest in substance and more spotlight on delivering a quality item, more collectible issues, a move far from attempting to contend with the web and towards doing things no one but print can do. We'll likewise observe standard magazine fanning out past their print issues to offer different things, similar to occasions, items, instructive projects and encounters.
5) How might this future impact Oh Comely? Do you think Oh Comely will survive the next five years - and why?
I feel that since Oh Comely was one of the first of its kind to show up in the specialty magazine advertise, it will acquire a place above later autonomous magazines which will start to rise. Be that as it may, as more magazines rise hoping to focus on similar groups of onlookers, Oh Comely will have real rivalry, and thus may lose a few perusers. In general, I do trust that Oh Comely will be liable to deals dropping, anyway I trust that their peruser base will stay faithful along these lines they will survive this.
Comments
Post a Comment