Slow-Moving Magazines No Match for Fast-Moving Blogs

The argument against the magazine industry’s sustainability generally goes like this: People now want their information on-demand, in short quantities, and from hundreds rather than dozens of sources. But one very important factor contributing to the industry’s demise is not often recognized. Magazines – lumbering machines that move at a snails pace – are just not equipped to remain relevant in a world that moves at lightning pace.

NY Magazine’s fashion blog The Cut points to the example of Top Shop, which was supposed to open in NY mid-October. In September, the company announced a 6-month delay, setting the new date for sometime in March. Online media, including blogs, all reported on the news. But now, October issues of many major magazines – which closed their pages months ago – are reporting about this month’s (nonexistent) Top Shop debut.

Is there a new model of print magazine that could overcome these issues? Is it the model of JPEG, which takes its cues from internet contributors? Or perhaps the environment is bad for large corporate-owned magazines, but not so bad for smaller independent publications. In any case, if magazines continue to become more and more irrelevant in today’s world, the traditional model won’t be around much longer.

NY Mag: The Cut