Magazines Live! New Book, Study Reveal

Newswise — Magazine lovers, rejoice! Print is not dead, and it's not going to die. So says "Mister Magazine," Samir Husni, professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi. Husni and student researchers have published "The Future of Magazines," a five-year forecast of trends within the industry. Its introduction is by William T. Kerr, chairman and CEO of publishing giant Meredith Corp., which financed printing of the 158-page book.

"I am the prophet of bloom, not doom," said Husni. "If you produce a good magazine for a specific audience, it will work. The future is bright for good products."

UM graduate students researched and wrote chapters on subjects from the future of editorial copy and dependence on advertising to foreign ownership of the U.S. industry and the future of distribution.

Among the conclusions drawn about the future of magazines are: " Writing must be short, sweet and to the point. " Advertising is getting harder to sell. " The number of sales outlets is increasing. " No solutions have been found yet to circulation problems.

"Magazines have proven to be a resilient and adaptable medium, and the credit must be shared between publishers and consumers," Kerr writes in his introduction. "Successful magazine companies embrace change " in editorial content, in design, in the production process and in marketing."

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