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Are Traditional Media Dead? “Garden and Gun” Says No.

In this week’s agenda for my class of HPM200 Managing Service Organizations in Social Media, we will discuss the impact of social media on TV networks, newspaper, and magazines. Statistics have shown that people rely less on traditional media for information than they did before.  The viewership of TVs and printed media declined. Then, are traditional media dead already or will be replaced by social media soon? 

Garden and Gun, the magazine that was established by a New Yorker in 2007, dares to say no. As a matter of fact, the magazine is doing quite well in terms of subscriptions and industry recognitions.

What’s good about this magazine? Based on what I saw in this CBS News video, I contribute its success to the following factors:

  • It positions in a niche market. While there are many magazines and newspaper covering stories of either the Northeastern Region or the West Coast, there is a lack of attention to the “world” in between.
  • It has a clear focus: the southern lifestyle --- “authentic, old-school, and unapologetic.” No politics, religion, and SEC football.   
  • It has a metaphor yet eye-catching name for branding. 

What are the other attributes for this magazine’s success? From this example, do you think printed media still have room to grow? How so? If you believe that there is no future for printed media, please tell us why you think that way.   

If you are interested in our discussion, please join our conversation on Twitter (#HPM200) every Tuesday and Thursday between 9:30 am and 10:50 am Eastern.
References: The picture was downloaded from Garden and Gun.

Comments

  1. I may be old fashioned, but I am hoping printed media still has an opportunity to grow. I still enjoy reading the newspaper through an actual paper and I enjoy flipping through the pages of magazines. It is also noted that some people are starting to return to textual ways. As long as the textual print is captivating and is interesting to the audience, it still has a chance in the media. As Garden&Guns demonstrated, it gave a sense of nostalgia to people about the "old-school days" which could have also created an audience outreach too.

    However, I recently read an article from the New York Times about Apple creating an app for iPad users to switch from books to iBooks. It is following the kindle and nook trend of books turning digital. By turning digital I believe that this will definitely impact the public -- from students to teachers as well as publishers. (Here's is an online copy of the New York Times issue that I read last week on Apple: " http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/apple-unveils-tools-for-digital-textbooks/?scp=2&sq=ipad%20book&st=cse " )

    I can also recall when I was still in high school I took a tore of the Boston Globe, the sister news paper owned by the New York Times. The tour was memorable and extremely fascinating. Majority of the reason why the tour amazed me was because at that time Boston Globe was predicted to be near its end in publishing, which encouraged me to support the newspaper industry.

    I am curious to see other people's opinion on what the prefer in text, digital or books?!

    -- Jenifer La, NSD 314

    ReplyDelete
  2. I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. Look forward to hearing more comments from you in the future.

      Delete
  3. The era of digital books is here and I'm pretty confident in saying that it isn't going anywhere! Traditional paper books, magazines, and newspapers on the other hand I think will slowly disappear as times goes on.

    The beauty of being able to download a magazine, newspaper, or book instantly onto a digital reader is convenient. Your whole library is located in one place, you don't have to go to the library or the market to get the book or paper and is "green", which is a new and important rend in our society today.

    Magazine, newspaper and other print based companies are realizing that in order to survive as a company they need to full support the new digital industry. In order to do this, they have upped their game as well. For instance the "Bon Appetite" magazine app for the ipad is way more than just the magazine. It offers instant videos and other features that the traditional print magazine cannot.

    -Marlei Simon

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is nice review and you have described everything is very clearly..This information is very useful and helpful.

    ReplyDelete

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