Print & Digital – a Perfect Match?

IMAGEOne magazine contributor has only good things to say about the digital challenge to publishing.

Rosie McMeel is unabashedly a glossy magazine fan.

“Print is a beautiful, considered, curated and indulgent medium that I’m passionate about. Getting to work on a glossy premium title is, for me, the pinnacle of working in print media. We agonise over every page, have stand-up arguments over fonts, the search for the perfect image is a daily challenge and the arduous subbing process has brought grown ups close to tears, myself included,” says the writer for Image magazine in her article “Why Print and Digital Can Live Happily Ever After.”

“Why do we care so much?” she asks. “Because our magazine is going to be read for days, not scrolled through in seconds. It signifies a little bit of time out in our readers’ otherwise hectic lives and we want them to luxuriate in the overall experience.”

Still, unlike many in her industry, she does not lament the inclusion of digital content into her brand’s media mix. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“To me, the advancement of digital media fills me with excitement, not dread,” McMeel notes. “It’s challenging the way my team and I work, pushing us to think bigger and create more efficiently than ever before. What could be negative about that?”

The point she is making is clear: Embrace the reality that the world has changed.

“The truth is we’re all consuming more content than ever before and while print may be under threat, I firmly believe the strong will survive. Companies investing in print alongside their digital versions and placing equal value on each will weather the storm. After all, video never did kill the radio star.”

Those that get this have a much better chance of still being in this industry a decade or more from now.