Speaking of magazines and Domino :
"The first one to go was House & Garden.
In November 2007, the 106-year-old magazine unexpectedly ceased publication. Soon after, In Style Home and Blueprint folded. Since November, three more home design magazines announced their demise: Time Inc.'s Cottage Living, O at Home and Country Home. Recently, media reports have said that Domino is in trouble, too.
In November 2007, the 106-year-old magazine unexpectedly ceased publication. Soon after, In Style Home and Blueprint folded. Since November, three more home design magazines announced their demise: Time Inc.'s Cottage Living, O at Home and Country Home. Recently, media reports have said that Domino is in trouble, too.
Those looking to point a finger for the shuttering of their favorite home design magazines can blame the over-saturation of them in the market and the 24-hour availability of design information on TV, radio and the Internet. Of course, the biggest contributor, experts say, is the economic downturn.
There's a housing crisis, a financial crisis and automotive crisis. All the U.S. economic conditions definitely affect this category.
In a downturn, the leaders are the ones that survive while the weaker ones fall away.
Unfortunately, a loyal fan base and high circulation don't necessarily mean survival. The bulk of a magazine's revenue comes from advertising. When ad dollars fall, revenue from other sources is typically not enough to sustain a publication. House & Garden, for example, had a circulation of nearly 1 million when it died.
A good example is Cottage Living. Launched in September 2004, the well-liked niche magazine enjoyed quick success: It steadily increased its circulation within a short period (it eventually exceeded 1 million). Despite the positive feedback, advertising began to decline. The November-December 2008 issue was its last.
But the publication was not geared toward high-income readers, whom advertisers most want to reach. There's no advertising to support the lower and middle markets in the shelter category, so revenue falls.
"I think blogs are the best thing to happen in my 30 years in the industry," says Drucker, of House Beautiful. "They spread the word about us. Blogs are basically magazines that are not financially viable. Magazines that are currently in peril would probably be much better off as blogs."
The Washington Post article also mentions a design blog I haven't heard of before, called
Mrs. Blandings. Some article writer's relative I suppose, to get a mention in the Post, but you may check it out here. So many "cute" , similar looking blogs around. At least it looks personal...
As I love Domino's style, and I have saved all of Domino's Greek issues, I am doing a "Love Domino style" Tuesday post meme, starting next Tuesday, February 10. Make a note, join me and share your favorite styles and posts. Have a lovely week ahead!
4 comments:
Just to clarify, I'm not a relative of the writer nor any of her friends. Just lucky, I guess.
Such a strange assumption that "Mrs. Blandings" must be a relative of someone at The Post.
"Mrs.Blandings" is an extremely talented writer and consistently produces posts that are always fair in opinion, unique and inspiring.
She certainly needs no 'props' from you or from me, but I must say, she is a fine example of the cream rising to the top.
I am mobilizing the blogging community in an attempt to get Conde Nast to leave up the Domino website and make it a subscription site that the can update monthly. If you would be interested in joining us please let me know. I have posted a letter I have written and sent to Conde Nast. Soon we will have a button that can be posted on blogs that will leads people to a questionnaire. The responses we capture there will be forwarded to Conde Nast. Thanks so much!
Can't wait for Tuesdays! I also posted about this unwarranted closing of a magazine we're still hungry for! Save Domino!
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