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Magazine challenges
By John W. Kennedy | February 25, 2008
Because of changing tastes and technology, it’s not the healthiest of times to be in the magazine industry, including those periodicals filling a niche in evangelical Christianity.
Magazines that had robust circulations only a few years ago are history, victims of the faster (and free) Internet.
New Man, which early in its 13-year history had a circulation of 400,000, printed its last bimonthly edition with the November-December issue.
CCM is celebrating its 30th anniversary in April by going out of business.
Both of the defunct magazines will continue to maintain a presence on the Web.
Circulation woes aren’t confined to Christian publications. All sorts of magazines are struggling for viability, as younger readers prefer to obtain information from the Internet and other instant media sources.
In another development, World magazine switched to a biweekly from weekly publication in January, not because of declining readership but rather increased printing and postage costs.
Trends that spurred the creation of New Man and CCM in the beginning—the Christian men’s movement and Christian rock music—had sufficiently morphed by 2008 to the point that parent companies could no longer justify a magazine.
I’m sure I’m more sentimental than most people when it comes to magazines going out of business. It’s not just that I’ve been a magazine editor for 15 years. I love to hold magazines in my hand, read them at my leisure and look at the glossy photos. That’s hard to do with a Webzine.
This trend is a reminder that we can’t be complacent in what we do. Nothing is certain in life. Meanwhile, TPE is adapting. We now have an increasing presence on the Web with blogs, podcasts and Daily Boost entries serving as a supplement to the weekly magazine, which is still distributed to nearly 7,000 congregations.