On Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 12:45 AM, bhaskar sunkara
<bhaskar.sunkara at gmail.com> wrote:
> I know we've visited this topic before (PDFs vs. print-outs, Ebook readers
> vs. bounded books), but I'm curious to hear list member's thoughts on the
> importance-- as /opposed/ to the viability --of print magazines.
Something to consider: there's a big tech-startup hangout that's basically like Digg/Reddit. For a few months now, someone's been reprinting some of the top links as a slick magazine: http://hackermonthly.com/
The audience is people who you'd expect are the last people to embrace print, as many of them seem out to kill it. If they see a lot of merit in an attractive print version... of things they can get free anyway... then it's worth considering.
Maybe a beautiful print version can lead to more inspirational thoughts than reading text on the screen. (Haven't used an iPad, so can't say how that is. But maybe even then, a pdf/epub/mobi copy of the print version could be really nice.)
All the best, Tj
On Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 12:45 AM, bhaskar sunkara
<bhaskar.sunkara at gmail.com> wrote:
> I know we've visited this topic before (PDFs vs. print-outs, Ebook readers
> vs. bounded books), but I'm curious to hear list member's thoughts on the
> importance-- as /opposed/ to the viability --of print magazines.
>
> Right now, in addition to the site, we have a very cheaply printed
> broadsheet circulating around all the DC campuses (well not Catholic U., but
> who cares about them?) funded by a few local student associations. But in
> the past week I've received a generous subsidy offer from a local-ish
> printer and enough donations to do a glossy quarterly of /Jacobin/.
>
> The logistics of the venture have been poured over, so don't worry about
> that. The design would be stellar, print-quality is super high, and we've
> already put together something nice in Indesign. I wasn't entirely pleased
> with how uneven the first issue was, but things will be better going
> forward.
>
> The question is whether it's worth the investment in time to produce content
> for print. If we've reached thousands of people on the web, is there any
> point to having a pretty magazine in a few indie bookstores on the East
> Coast and in the mailboxes of a hundred or so financially secure readers?
> Is it just a vanity project, pointlessly limiting how much content we can
> include, and unconsciously shaping that content by subjecting ourselves to
> certain market pressures?
>
>
> (Typing this message on Chinatown bus from DC to New York, a good venue for
> bad ideas.)
>
> - Bhaskar
>
>
>
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