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Started 4 years ago by bjboose
Latest reply from artbomb112

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bjboose
Weinland Park
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After reading through the latest issues of C-bus and C magazine and the other ilk, I realized that I hate these magazines...so much.
The letters from the editors regaling us with stories of how beautiful they are and the exclusive events they hosted/went to.
The 2,512th article about Rosendale's and fine dining.
The latest fashion you should buy for a night out...the whole outfit only costs $800, plus accessories!
Local 'celebrities' and where they like to hang out.
Look inside the latest condo building that isn't selling, but we're pretending is!!
25 meals for under $25...so hard to find!!
I think we need a Columbus Underground magazine! One that's different than the others. C'mon Walker, let get the ball rolling.
Just kidding...I know how much effort this would take. Mainly, i just wanted to rant on how sick I am of these magazines puking out the same articles month after month after month...

Posted 4 years ago #
Manatee
The eternal present
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+1

Posted 4 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Yeah. Would be a lot of work. And while magazines haven't suffered as much as newspapers, I think print media as a whole is going to continue to decline in readership for some time.
I read the local magazines and agree that something new would be nice though.
:idea:

Posted 4 years ago #
daniel
Old Town East
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you are a smart and diplomatic responder, W.
it's an interesting problem though.
we want print media that represents us, but don't put much stock in the vehicle of print media.
sounds like it will leave a gap for a while and maybe some factors will change to make it a profitable and worthwhile investment for someone to step in.

Posted 4 years ago #
TimFitz
Clintonville
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Read those magazines more carefully and you'll also see that the only restaurants that they feature in their "9 for $9" stories are restaurants that advertise in their pages.

Posted 4 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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The other problem I have with magazines is that if you look at how many pages are there (around 64-68 in C-BUS and C Magazine) and count how many pages are taken up with ads (usually between 1/2 and 2/3 of the magazine) then you're really not getting a whole lot of content out of it.
I think the content-to-advertising ratio works much better online. Banners might be annoying on some websites, but could you imagine if CU was 2/3rd ads? No one would look at this website at all!
I did a little bit of pricing online last night and a good quality, full color, full size magazine would cost around $6,500 to print 1000 copies. Really not a ton of money that could easily be offset with a minimal amount of advertising.
The labor costs is where it would get really expensive though. Hiring writers, photographers, illustrators, layout and design people, editors, and salespeople would cost a lot of money. I suppose you could have some people work freelance, but for the amount of time it would take to put together one of these things every 30 days I doubt anyone would want to keep it afloat for free.
Still, it's an interesting idea. Would anyone pay for a new magazine (at newstands or subscribe), or would you expect it to be free like C-BUS or C Magazine?

Posted 4 years ago #
Manatee
The eternal present
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I'd pay for it. If the content was really good and locally relevant, in depth and fun, I would. But another problem with a magazine is that unlike CU online, content couldn't be up-to-the-minute. That's a big reason why I think magazines often feel canned and dead.
Also, here we have discussions, whereas magazine articles are usualy just written by one person. So I would expect a CU magazine to be innovative when it came to how articles came to be, and how they were written.
CU has more of a bottom-up (pardon the expression) feel than a magazine's usual top-down feel. Whenever I read most magazines I feel like I'm reading something that's being imposed on me, instead of feeling like I'm getting a real person's point of view.
It could be really fun, but yeah, what a big commitment.
Can I write for it? :wink:

Posted 4 years ago #
ZHC
101 East Main Street, Downtown
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I think people would pay for it, depending on the content to AD ratio. One thing you have going for you that C-Bus etc don't is that you have some name recognition and a positive rep already . If it's Ad heavy like the other mentioned mags it could be a hard sell to potential subscribers. Conversely if you don't have a large pool of subscribers it may too expensive to print without a large % of Ads.
Personally I think CU would lend itself best to talk TV or talk Radio actually. There's a about zero choice for local programming in this town and what's available usually pertains only to the local news or buckeye coverage. With the advent of Internet radio and video services like youtube start-up costs are lower than ever. Additionally those formats invite more community participation (which is the strength of CU) than one way conversation formats like magazines and newspapers. Would be a natural extension of the podcasts you already have going.
Anyway that's my two cents.

Posted 4 years ago #
Brewmaster
Portland, OR
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Hmmm...I actually read those magazines FOR the ads. I think that's the real value. It beats brainstorming what restaurants you haven't been to yet but have been wanting to try.

Posted 4 years ago #
Coremodels
Really close to Explorer's Club.
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Brewmaster wrote Hmmm...I actually read those magazines FOR the ads. I think that's the real value. It beats brainstorming what restaurants you haven't been to yet but have been wanting to try.
+1 I like to see what's shakin. Best thing ever in C Magazine was the 10 for 10 section or whatever it was.

Posted 4 years ago #
CbusIslander
Cbus Islander
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Talk radio, that would be great one. Just start with an one hour program on an existing station. In reality, this format and podcasts are good enough to reach people.
As far as the mags, I like C-bus and CM. Magazines and newspapers aren't meant to be instant like TV and internet, but it can provide a unique more in depth perspective.

Posted 4 years ago #
Coremodels
Really close to Explorer's Club.
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CbusIslander wrote Talk radio, that would be great one.
You know, I'm a pure talk radio guy when I drive. One of the most entertaining segments is the Big Bass Brothers on 610 who basically give a funny restaurant review that totally reminds me of something I'd read here.

Posted 4 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Manatee wrote Also, here we have discussions, whereas magazine articles are usualy just written by one person. So I would expect a CU magazine to be innovative when it came to how articles came to be, and how they were written.
What if the magazine articles were sort of the conversation starters, and the discussion could continue online? You could read through your magazine at your own leisure and then hop online to see what people think about specific articles and discuss things further.
Manatee wrote Can I write for it? :wink:
Of course! ;)

Posted 4 years ago #
BetsyB
Westgate
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[quote="Walker"]I did a little bit of pricing online last night and a good quality, full color, full size magazine would cost around $6,500 to print 1000 copies. Really not a ton of money that could easily be offset with a minimal amount of advertising.
?[quote]
Thats not a real high circulation, advertisers like to hear numbers such as cost per thousand, demographics etc. C-Bus and C mag print about 30,000 copies each, and you know they aren't paying $6.50 a copy for the mag to be printed. I do see a need for a better young Columbus glossy magazine, but the guys who publish C and C-Bus are pretty well connected around town, so there would be some problems when first entering the market. Its hard to make a magazine profitable, especially within the first six months because you don't have measurable results to offer your advertisers. Those mags had to offer free ads and still do alot of trade plus it is very cheap to get in them.
If someone can make a better, thought-provoking magazine than C or C-Bus for our age group, I would subscribe. The Catch-22 would be not making it available to just anyone at the bars or restaurants like the above mentioned mags. Here's the catch: You lose visibility in the market by not doing that.

Posted 4 years ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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BetsyB wrote Thats not a real high circulation, advertisers like to hear numbers such as cost per thousand, demographics etc.
Sure. I was just looking at something quickly as a start. 8)
BetsyB wrote If someone can make a better, thought-provoking magazine than C or C-Bus for our age group, I would subscribe. The Catch-22 would be not making it available to just anyone at the bars or restaurants like the above mentioned mags. Here's the catch: You lose visibility in the market by not doing that.
Sure, C Magazine and C-BUS have 30,000 copies per month (well, C-BUS is every two months) but how many people pick it up and either never read it or barely glance at it and throw it away? I'd rather have a magazine with fewer copies, harder to find, and a stronger readership that subscribes and reads the whole thing front to back.

Posted 4 years ago #
daniel
Old Town East
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Tex wrote I'd rather have a magazine with fewer copies, harder to find, and a stronger readership that subscribes and reads the whole thing front to back.
maybe i'm dreaming. but what if. . .
1. throw a few topics out here.
2. people pick em up and write
3. they get wiki-fied - and anyone in the forumn can edit and contribute to their writing.
4. they get read, checked and edited,
5. then published.
might be the first community written wiki magazine? or at least when you put it like that it sounds novel enough.
I'd get behind it. probably with some money.

Posted 4 years ago #
shroud
Polaris
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skreened wrote maybe i'm dreaming. but what if. . .
1. throw a few topics out here.
2. people pick em up and write
3. they get wiki-fied - and anyone in the forumn can edit and contribute to their writing.
4. they get read, checked and edited,
5. then published.
might be the first community written wiki magazine? or at least when you put it like that it sounds novel enough.
I'd get behind it. probably with some money.
Main drawback I see with this... if the content is up there already to begin with, who's going to bother picking up the print version?
The community built-content is a great thought, but taking that and turning it into recycled, stale print seems to suck the life away.

Posted 4 years ago #
daniel
Old Town East
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shroud wrote
Main drawback I see with this... if the content is up there already to begin with, who's going to bother picking up the print version?
The community built-content is a great thought, but taking that and turning it into recycled, stale print seems to suck the life away.
sure, stale to us. but people that don't read this - it'd be fresh.
you could create a private forum to develop the stuff too, and then launch it.
seems like it would draw a lot of people to the site too. But, yeah, i see what you're saying.

Posted 4 years ago #
Brewmaster
Portland, OR
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Here's what I'd like to see...
There are lots of smart, involved people who post on this forum. If someone is REALLY wanting to write for an "online magazine", start writing. There are only a handful of folks on here who really start off a thread with a well written, well researched, well thought out post.
There's nothing wrong with that though. I like both kinds. It's just that this forum is already providing the "bones" for an online magazine. Walker has even made it more approachable by creating front page content. Write something good enough, intriguing enough, or with pretty pictures and he'll send it to the front page. From there...instant conversation with hundreds of columbusites.
Just speaking from my experience from my blog...it's time consuming to write original content. I'm sure that's a big reason why more people don't do it. I wish they would though.

Posted 4 years ago #
plexiglas

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Posted 4 years ago #