Could COVID Be the Cause of Death for Print Magazines?
By Mia McManus
With the rise of the digital era, it may come as no surprise that print magazines are on the decline. However, admits the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be only a matter of time before they become extinct all together. Print magazines were already dealing with reductions in their numbers, but Coronavirus is quickly accelerating the problem. Many magazines have already begun to halt production, with no plans to pick back up anytime soon. These include smaller name magazines like Paper. Larger magazines are having to make significant changes to their production, as well. Vogue released a June / July issue; this multi-month format is a first for Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour. Vanity Fair and Cosmopolitan will release July / August issues, and Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, and Marie Claire will only release a sole “summer” issue. Could this be the beginning of the end? First, magazines will publish every other month, then they will cut back to publishing quarterly, then twice a year, until finally only one issue is made each year. Magazines make majority of their profits off of advertisements in their issues, but with all companies having to make financial cuts, they may steer clear of print publishing as a way to promote. Ad market forecaster, Jack Myers, does not foresee a full recovery until 2025, and even then, magazines will still not produce the kind of advertisement revenue they did before. Due to this, companies have had to get creative in thinking of ways to help themselves survive, which hopefully they can do.