Wired magazine published an article yesterday by Meghan Keane which asks whether the future of newspapers is high-end magazines. The article was prompted by the launch this week of WSJ, a magazine to accompany The Wall Street Journal. One only has to look at how magazine inserts here in Australia are used to drive retail as well as home delivery sales. Fairfax has had considerable success driving sales of The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review with high-end magazines. While managing these thick magazine inserts is not without its problems, there is no doubt consumers look for them. They are an important part of the mix to support newspapers in the face of other challenges.
And then there’s the Economist. It’s in a magazine format, but it describes itself as a newspaper and is generally full of, well, news.
While newspaper circulations are down in international markets, the Economist keeps growing. Here in New Zealand it’s $11 a pop — about 7 times the cost (and profit) of an everyday newspaper.