DESIGNS ON A REDESIGN

Fortune had one earlier in March, BusinessWeek has one planned for mid-April and The Nation has underdone several in the last few years.
Redesigns are increasingly common in the newspaper and magazine industry as publishers battle to make their products more indispensable and more relevant for their readers.
"We're redesigning it from a graphic and design point of view and to some extent from an editorial point of view," said Managing Editor Andy Serwer of the redesigned Fortune in an interview with The New York Post. He added the decision to go ahead with a new look for the magazine reflected Time Inc.'s bet that you have to be in it to win it. "For all the doomsday scenarios people are painting, people are still reading magazines," said Serwer. "To be in the magazine business, do it right."
The danger with redesigns is that you end up with exactly the same content, just repackaged. Content is king and, to a certain extent, how it's packaged isn't isn't why readers buy. Redesigns should always include fresh and compelling content. Content equals readers and readers means revenue.

Read more...

ECONOMIST CALLS FOR LAW TO BE LIFTED

In an online article The Economist has called for Thailand's strict lese-majeste law to be lifted.
"Because of this law, last week’s issue of The Economist was not distributed in Thailand. In our extended discussion of the royal succession , we ran the risk of causing an “injured majesty” or laesa maiestas. Succession aside, we tried to make another point, through our accompanying leader article. : this is no way to have a conversation about such a serious matter."
In calling for readers to comment the story concludes: "We hold that Thailand's lese-majeste laws should be lifted. They harm the country itself; on those grounds they should be removed."
Since my story last week I have had a number of emails from subscribers in Thailand who are, frankly, fed up with having the magazine withheld from distribution each time there is anything remotely controversial about the kingdom. The publisher extends subscriptions by one issue each time it happens but I'm aware of at least five readers who will not be renewing their subscriptions to The Economist.

Read more...

NO HIDING PLACE FOR THE BANGKOK POST

The significant 29 per cent year-on-year decline in the headline circulation figure of The Bangkok Post, which I wrote about yesterday, ironically comes at roughly the same time when newspaper advertising overall was witnessing a 21 per cent year-on-year rise in revenues.
If you use these latest audited circulation figures as being reflective of the newspaper industry in Thailand as a whole then things are pretty serious. Although most of the Post's decline can be attributed to cuts in the bulk (reduced price multiple copy) sales of the newspaper, these are still copies that get read. I picked up a copy on a Thai Airways flight from Phuket to Bangkok yesterday - along with at least 30 other passengers and, trust me, with nothing much else to do for an hour you do end up reading the newspaper from cover to cover.
Having an audited circulation has both good and bad points. On the negative side is the fact that everyone can see just how fewer copies are being sold. It was only a few years ago The Bangkok Post was boasting sales of 60,000+ copies per day. Being audited, however, does add a level of transparency. The Bangkok Post can prove exactly how many copies it sells whereas others can only make unsubstantiated claims.
Would you rather trust your advertising to a newspaper that can prove daily sales of 45,000 copies, or one that claims far more but has no way of proving it?

Read more...

CIRCULATION DROP AT BANGKOK POST

FIRST WITH MEDIA NEWS IN THAILAND - The Bangkok Bugle

The latest audited circulation figures for The Bangkok Post, the only newspaper in Thailand with an independently audited circulation, show a year-on-year headline figure decline of more than 29 per cent.
During the six months ending December 31, 2009 the newspaper recorded an average daily circulation of 45,296 copies, an 11.4 per cent decline on the previous six month period and a whopping 29.06 per cent drop on the same period in 2009.
Single copy sales, which are individual copies of the newspaper purchased at bookshops, stood at 13,299 copies - down 12.78 per cent year-on-year. Single copy subscription sales were down 9.4 per cent year-on-year to stand at 17,625 copies.
The most significant drop - a massive 68.58 per cent - was seen in bulk sales. These are copies of the newspaper which are sold at discounted rates to airlines and hotels, etc. During the second half of 2009 this accounted for 14,276 copies per day on average, down from 24.066 copies in the same period last year.
The argument that cutting cut-price or freely distributed copies will lead to more 'real' sales of the newspaper does not appear to be justified, although such a significant cut in the number of copies printed is likely to have some impact on production costs.

Read more...

THE POWER OF PRINT IN THAILAND

Print is a powerful medium, and that's even more evident this week with the non-appearance of The Economist in Thailand.
The magazine's print edition was withheld from distribution for what the publishers describe as "sensitive" content surrounding the Thai royal family. That is the sixth time the publishers have taken this action since December 2009, and the seventh time in all the magazine has failed to appear with subscribers and on the shelves in the same time.
But links to the web versions of all stories, except one in December 2008, have remained accessible throughout. What does this say about the power of print, or at least its perceived value?
Do more people read The Economist in print than online in Thailand? Unlikely. Until recently the magazine was claiming just over 6,000 sales of the magazine in Thailand. I think more people will have read this particular story, or one of several Thai language translations that have appeared, online than will ever have seen the print edition.
Print is still king, at least in Thailand.

Read more...

VACANCIES: WRITERS

Asia City Media Group, publishers of BK Magazine, has a couple of vacancies for Thai national writers and journalists.

CUSTOM PROJECTS WRITER/COPYWRITER:
The successful candidates will ...
.. be able to write with flair in both Thai and English.
.. have a strong portfolio of published work, either editorial or copywriting.
.. have experience dealing with clients.

WRITER:
The successful candidate will be ..
.. independent, resourceful, enthusiastic and street-savvy.
.. have been published in established websites, magazines or newspapers.
.. be able to write in English with flair.
.. be passionate about Bangkok and lifestyle journalism.

Both positions are open to Thai nationals only. Apply by email to editor@asia-city.co.th with a cover letter, salary expectations and writing examples.

Read more...

REUTERS GETS ECONOMIST STORY WRONG

After my exclusive report on Thursday lunchtime that copies of this week's edition of The Economist would not be distributed in Thailand, the news - largely thanks to a news report from Reuters, has spread. It's been picked up by The New York Times, and The Bangkok Post is using the same agency report in its edition today.
Sadly the original report from Reuters is wrong.
The report says there was four occasions since December 2008 when the magazine was not distributed in Thailand. The fact is that there were six times during 2009 when the magazine failed to make it to the shelves or subscribers - and one further time in December 2008. So Reuters claims of four times should actually read seven times.
The six occasions during 2009 where deliveries of print editions of The Economist were disrupted in Thailand were October 16, September 18th, July 4, April 18, January 31 and January 24. The issue of December 5, 2009 was also withheld from delivery to Thailand. That's seven times since December 2008.
And as has happened in all previous occasions the publishers have written to its subscribers, saying: "Due to the sensitive nature of our coverage on the Thai monarchy, we decided not to distribute the March 20 issue of The Economist in Thailand." Subscribers have been offered one extra edition on top of their current subscription.

Read more...

THE BATTLE FOR THE ECONOMIST

And here's the reason why copies of The Economist will not be appearing in Thailand this week.
The cover story on the Asia edition of the magazine is headlined "The Battle for Thailand", and the same story also appears within the European edition.
As I revealed exclusively yesterday, the publishers have taken the decision this week- as they did at least five times during 2009 - not to distribute copies here for what I will describe as contentious content.
The magazine has not been banned, but in this case I am certain the Thailand-based distributors would not handle this edition even if copies arrived.
I think it's interesting to note that in all except one of the six occasions last year when The Economist declined to distribute its print edition in the kingdom, the "problem" content remained accessible online. To me that says a lot about the power of the printed word in Thailand.

Read more...

NO ECONOMIST FOR THAILAND NEXT WEEK

EXCLUSIVE: By The Bangkok Bugle

An industry source has confirmed to me that The Economist will not be distributing copies of its next issue in Thailand.
The publishers are already contacting distributors and agents to inform them of their decision to suspend distribution of the issue which is printed later today (Thursday) and would have arrived with subscribers and on the shelves throughout the kingdom over the weekend.
During 2009 six issues suffered similar distribution problems because of content that could have been deemed as being offensive to the monarchy. One can make an educated guess that the content in question this time will perhaps relate to the ongoing red shirt anti-government demonstrations.
In five of the cases last year the publisher took the decision to halt distribution however in one case the Thailand-based distributors refused to handle copies. At no time has the magazine been the subject of an official ban, and all the 'problem content' remained accessible online.

Read more...

FRONT PAGE NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

The ongoing anti-government red shirt protests continued to make front page news around the world on Tuesday. This selection of newspapers from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Austria gives an indication of the coverage the current situation in Bangkok is receiving, not just regionally but further afield.
I'm guessing the symbolic blood-pouring will attract a fair amount of coverage around the world today.

Read more...

BOOM FOR NEWSPAPERS, MAGS DECLINE

Media spending in Thailand grew 10.7 per cent year-on-year during February 2010 according to data released by Nielsen (Thailand) yesterday. The figures make interesting reading for anyone involved in the publishing and media industry.

Media (Y-O-Y change) Expenditure in Feb 2010
Television (+12.5%) THB 4.3 billion
Newspapers (+21.8%) THB 1.1 billion
Radio (+4.3%) THB 431 million
Magazines (-15.4%) THB 323 million
Cinema (+6.8 %) THB 314 million
Outdoor (-9.9%) THB 307 million
Transit (+19.2%) THB 155 million
Instore (+30.9%) THB 72 million
Internet (+90.9 %) THB 21 million

Magazines and outdoor advertising (billboards, etc) were the only sectors to see a decline according to the research. Overall spending in the first two months of 2010 was up 9.03 per cent on the same period last year.
What's interesting to note is the vastly differing fortunes of print media. Newspapers seem to be booming whereas the magazine sector is seeing a sharp decline. Could this be because there are too many titles, or could it be that publishers are being forced to cut rates to secure business? If this trend continues magazines could be relegated to the fifth ranked media by spend when figures for March are released next month.

Read more...

REDS MAKE FRONT PAGE NEWS

Here's a small selection of Monday's front pages featuring coverage of the red-shirt anti-government protests in Bangkok. Regionally and further afield the demonstrations have attracted a fair degree of media coverage in print, on television and on the Internet.

Read more...

MAGAZINES FOR THE iPAD

A few weeks ago I met a representative from Stockholm-based magazine publisher Bonnier. The company has more than 150 magazines and, looking at the work they've been doing for the past six months, they're at the forefront of developments for providing a print-style reading experience for the iPad. Whether something like this will work remains to be seen.
Pricing will be a key factor, but this is essentially a new product requiring new designers and new writers - and this at a time when many publishers are looking to cut costs and not increase them. Anyone expecting something like this to be cheaper than print is going to be disappointed, and anyone expecting every magazine to be available in this kind of format in the near future will be similarly disappointed.
From a publishers perspective there are so many 'digital' platforms. Which are we going to focus on? What works on one will likely not transfer to anyone easily. Are we will to gamble that readers and advertisers will pay, in significant numbers, for an investment in an iPad edition to work.

Read more...

WITH THE REDS ON RAJADAMNOEN

I'm home after spending a couple of hours walking up and down Rajadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok where most the red-shirt anti-government protesters are gathering. It's hard to estimate just how many people, but for certain the numbers are growing by the hour. Policing is light and the mood of the protesters, at least when I was there, was jovial although seemingly determined. A number of red-shirts even came up to say 'hello' in their best English. The news of these protests is now headlining around the world. It was lead story on the 2pm (local time) news on BBC World. With both sides determined to hold their respective positions I guess there will be a lot more coverage around the world in the coming hours and days.

Read more...

FRONT PAGE NEWS: BANGKOK PROTESTS

Regionally the Macau Daily Times (pictured) and the Asia edition of the International Herald Tribune that chose to feature Friday's protests in Bangkok on their front pages.
There was sizable coverage inside many regional heavyweight including The Straits Times, South China Morning Post and Sydney Morning Herald.
Locally The Bangkok Post's 'Red Rage Rising' headline showed traffic build-up along Phahon Yothin Road as anti-government red-shirt supporters began to gather. The Nation's headline 'Thaksin's Last Chance' explains that only a mass turnout this weekend from his supporters is likely to result in this latest in a growing line of gatherings turning out to be anything less than a whimper.

Read more...

EVERYTHING'S QUIET IN CENTRAL BANGKOK

Saturday afternoon's in central Bangkok are never like this.
I captured the almost deserted roads outside Central Chitlom at 2pm this afternoon. The shops here, and also at Siam Paragon, were equally quiet. I think many shoppers opted to stay closer to home, rather than venture into the centre of the city.
But I have to say that in my four-hour trip out today I didn't see a single red-shirt or a single member of the military. No checkpoints either. I even overheard a couple of tourists who seemed to be disappointed there weren't any signs of demonstrations.

Read more...

BANGKOK IN THE SPOTLIGHT - AGAIN

The eyes of the world will once again be on Bangkok this weekend as up to one million anti-government protesters descend on the capital. Several countries, notably the Philippines and Taiwan, have already issued advisories to their citizens to postpone planned trips to Bangkok, while others, such as the United Kingdom, is urging its citizens to exercise "extreme caution".
So what is happening in Bangkok right now?
As of this morning (Thursday) the government has initiated the Internal Securities Act. This allows for checkpoints to be established and the movement of protesters to be restricted. It also allows for the imposition of a curfew if things turn violent.
Some media outlets are already reporting that checkpoints have appeared in Bangkok but I've not seen any myself. What will happen tomorrow is that a number of roads will be closed. These roads are located close to the six designated rally sites. Perhaps the most notable, so far as tourists and expats will be concerned, is Wireless Road at its junction with Rama 4. On a purely personal note one of the rally sites - at Wongwian Yai on the Thonburi side of the city - is just a few miles from my home.
I think the best advice that anyone can give right now is to monitor a range of media outlets during the course of tomorrow and over the weekend to keep up-to-date on events. Blogs and Twitter are useful for personal experiences, and are often way ahead of the mainstream media.
For me, perhaps this weekend might also be one of the rare occasions where having my official Thai media identification could come in useful.

Read more...

INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINES FOR RENT

EXCLUSIVE: By The Bangkok Bugle

A service offering copies of international magazines on a rental basis has launched in Thailand.
The MagPalThailand venture, believed to be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, allows customers in Thailand to rent copies of overseas magazines from the United States and the United Kingdom.
Currently the service is offering a package of ten titles 'for him' and for her' from both countries. The 'for him' package of magazines from the U.K. includes copies of FHM, T3, Gentlemen's Quarterly, Men's Health, Esquire, Performance BMW, MacWorld, FourFourTwo, Car and Loaded. Customers can rent copies of current issues of these titles for a 3-month period for 7,130 baht. The price drops to 2,840 baht for three-month old issues. Packages for 6 and 12 month periods are also on offer. Magazines are delivered to customers who then have to return the issues to the company or face a fine. A fine is also payable for damaged copies.
The concept seems to be exactly the same as the video rental business. But for magazines? Surely if people are going to be paying what is a substantial amount of money for a selection of magazines they're going to want to keep them? The only benefit I can see is the cost saving, but that's only worthwhile if you would be buying most of the ten magazines in the packages anyway. The range is so diverse that I cannot believe anyone in Thailand is buying all ten titles right now, and savvy magazine shoppers know you can get big discounts on a diverse range of overseas magazines from Chatuchak Weekend Market - albeit it's hit and miss exactly what turns up.
Does anyone this this will work? Would anyone use a service like this?

Read more...

GOSSIP MAGAZINES LEAD THE WAY

'Gossip' magazines are popular no matter what language is used.
There are a huge number of home-grown Thai language titles as well as licensed editions of both Hello! and OK!, but I was surprised to learn that imported English language gossip and celebrity titles are also one of the best-selling categories in one of the top English bookshop chains in Thailand.
This surprising news comes after a recent chat with the company that exports huge numbers of American magazines into the kingdom. They told me that Thailand, for them, was exceptionally good in terms of the amount of business done. Celebrity title People Magazine and the bi-monthly Foreign Policy were cited as being two of the top-selling American titles in Thailand.

Read more...

MAGAZINES AND THE CRAZY SALES CLAIMS

With the lack of independent circulation auditing for magazines in Thailand it's a fact that every magazine massages its sales figures. This isn't a problem that's unique to Thailand, but in other parts of the world publishers have been slowly forced into telling the truth about their sales. That's fine for those publishers with strong brands and equally strong sales but it's not good news for those magazines that are struggling.
When discussing this issue I often quote the example of one business magazine here which claims to sell 50,000 copies per month when, in reality, it prints just 5,000 copies and distributes less than 3,000 of those. In all likelihood that same magazine sells barely one thousand.
When you look at some basic industry facts some of the claims just look plain silly.
According to 2008 figures from the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand there were 2,438 bookshops in the Kingdom. Taking the example of one leading Thai language men's magazine which claims to sell 150,000 copies per month in its media kit, that means an average sale in every bookshop in Thailand of slightly more than 60 copies. And when you understand that achieving a sell-through rate of 50 per cent of copies supplied to a single location is pretty hard to achieve, that means they're claiming to be supplying more than 100 copies to each of those stores up and down the country.
How many times have you seen more than a dozen copies of any magazine on sale in Thailand?
Independent circulation auditing will happen in Thailand. I've been saying that for a number of years and I'm even more convinced it must happen, not least to boost the appeal of magazines as a serious and credible advertising medium.

Read more...

NATION QUICK TO PRINT THAKSIN SPECIAL

The Nation Group was quick off the blocks, printing and distributing a chunky 'Thaksin Verdict' special publication within just 48-hours of the judge's verdict. The Thai language title includes the entire text of the verdict alongside some background and photographs of red-shirts and Thaksin.
A fair proportion would have been done prior to the verdict but a lot of decisions would have been made whilst the verdict was being delivered, unless that had prior access to the text of what was going to be said.
The 75-baht magazine proves that is it possible for the Thai printing and publishing industry to turn around big stories in a very short amount of time.

Read more...

A NEW DAWN FOR PRINT JOURNALISTS

The Nation had a front page comment piece on Friday headlined 'Is a new dawn possible for print journalism?' It's worth a read. It asks many questions but leaves more unanswered.
"The only pending question is the financial viability of such a business model," the article says, discussing how mainstream media journalists are now able to create content easier themselves online. "This is the age of the independent publisher," declared a media watch blog, quoted in the story.
The story makes mention of 600+ fans of a new NationPhoto Facebook page. That's great - but where is the revenue coming from? Unless Nation, and not just them but any other publisher, get direct revenues as a result of allowing people to access their content for free online or on mobile devices then that content will eventually disappear. It has to. It's not financially sustainable.
It's good to see The Nation devoting space on its front page to issues like this, but how many people really understand or, more importantly, care?

Read more...

ADFEST POSTPONED, CITES TROUBLE RISKS

The "difficult political situation" has forced organisers of The Asia Pacific Advertising Festival 2010 (ADFEST) to postpone the event for a couple of months.
The event, which was set to be held in Pattaya from March 18-20, was set to bring many of the regions top advertising executives to Thailand. Organisers hope to rearrange the event for mid-May.
Speaking to Media Asia Vinit Suraphongchai, chairman of the festival's working committee, said he was extremely disappointed that the festival has had to be postponed. "The political situation is fluid in Thailand. If we go ahead and there is unrest, we will be hard pressed to explain the situation. In light of the current situation, we would rather be safe than sorry."
Expressing surprise at the decision to postpone the event David Guerrero, chairman and chief creative officer of BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines, said: "I didnt think the situation in Thailand was so bad. It's a shame. We had actually planned a regional meeting in Thailand around the same time."
Personally I don't think the situation in Thailand is bad enough to warrant a decision like this. Last year's Publish Asia event fell vicitm to the political instability but the event has been rescheduled for Bangkok in May this year. I am not aware of any other events that have been postponed or cancelled this time.

Read more...

RECRUITMENT: ONLY IN THAILAND

Another personal HR experience from the '.. it can only happen in Thailand' file.
My company is currently recruiting for advertising sales staff for our English language publications. The ad says applications should be in English and that the position involves selling ads for English language titles.
Step forward Ms. B. She emailed a good resume in the correct language and with enough experience and skills to warrant an interview. She even boasted "good" English language communication skills and a typing speed of 35 wpm in English.
And her response to my request to attend an interview (summarised for clarification)? "Sorry, I didn't realise the interview would be in English. I do not speak good English."

Read more...

SOME INTERESTING MAGAZINE STATS

Print is far from dead if statistics from the Magazine Publishers Association of America are anything to go by. Yes, I know it's an industry association and you might accuse them of talking up the industry but the findings are interesting nonetheless - even though they relate to magazines in the United States only.

1) Magazine readership rose 4.3 per cent in the five years ending December 2009. (Source: MRI Fall 2009, Fall 2005 data).
2) Average paid subscriptions reached almost 300 million during 2009. (Source: MPA estimates based on ABC first half 2009 and second half 2009 data).
3) Adults in the 18-34 age group are avid magazine readers. They read more issues and spend more time reading magazines that those in the over-34 sector. (Source: MRI Fall 2009 data).
4) In the 12-years since Google made its debut magazine readership has increased by 11 per cent. (Source: MRI Fall 2009 data).

Wouldn't it be wonderful if The Magazine Association of Thailand was to publish some equally compelling data about the industry here.

Read more...

GOLF DIGEST TEES OFF IN THAILAND

Golf Digest is the second global magazine to appear this year with a licensed Thai language edition.
The 60-year-old marketing leader has been licensed in Thailand by Media Transasia, publishers of other licensed magazines including Men's Health, OK! and Seventeen.
The launch March issue of Golf Digest Thailand sells for 150 baht and runs to 138 pages, at least 30 of which appear to be paid-for advertising. That's very good for a first edition.
Thailand seems like a natural progression for this title, given the fact there are already local editions in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, Korea and Taiwan.
The golf magazine sector in Thailand has at least half a dozen home grown titles. And although Golf Digest is priced significantly higher that local competition, it's subscription rate is just 60 baht per copy. That gives readers a real financial reason to make the switch from buying in the shops.
This month is also set to see the appearance of at least one more licensed title with the Thai language launch of Guitarist magazine from the U.K.

Read more...