Flipping through a women's magazine is like stepping back in time

Flipping through a women's magazine is like stepping back in time
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine
SHARE
THIS



Former Cleo editor and founder of online women’s content hub Mamamia, Mia Freedman, has spoken out about the “insignificance” of magazines in today’s fast-paced media landscape.

Freedman, who established Mamamia in 2007 after many years as editor-in-chief of ACP’s Cleo, Cosmopolitan and Dolly, addressed the Sydney Institute last night with a perspective on Australian women and online communication.

Her address highlighted what she sees as magazines’ desperate attempt to maintain relevance within a 24 hour news cycle – a cycle which requires a responsiveness and flexibility on the part of publishers that is “simply unprecedented”.

“Women in particular are voracious consumers of information, but we inhale quickly and we move on,” she said.

“The magazines, which I loved madly as a reader, and then as a writer and editor, are produced monthly or weekly – but the reality is that Australian women don’t live their lives in increments of months or weeks or even days. We live our lives in increments of half hours, sometimes minutes – and if you’re mother of a child under two, best make that seconds.

“We don’t wait for magazines anymore. We have information coming to us from the internet and social media much faster than we can consume it. For free.”

Freedman illustrated the importance of timeliness with a reference to the way Australian media handled the Duchess of Cambridge’s pregnancy news, which broke unexpectedly in early December.

“The news broke overnight in the wee hours of Tuesday December 4th. The weekly women’s mags were stuffed,” she said. Many of Australia’s weekly magazines hit shelves on Mondays.

When it came to the monthly magazines, “The Australian Women’s Weekly… simply threw up their hands in frustration, essentially locked out of the story for weeks,” she said.

“The fact that the Women’s Weekly is the largest selling magazine in Australia is a liability when it comes to quick response. It takes a long time to turn around The Queen Mary.”

Meanwhile, at Mamamia, things were ‘all systems go’. “We had our first post up at 7:30am on the Tuesday and we updated it as a few more details emerged – as did other news sites, websites and blogs,” said Freedman.

But the relevance of magazines isn’t just declining because of timing, she believes. When it comes to women’s titles, publishers have fallen out of touch with their audiences in terms of tone and content.

“The increasing insignificance of magazines is only compounded by the fact that they continue to use the same formula they always did when speaking to women,” she said.

“While women’s thinking has evolved, magazines haven’t grown with us. Flipping through the pages of a women’s magazine is like stepping back in time.

“Women are no longer interested in being told how to improve their lives from on high. They’re far more likely to crowd-source advice and information from a variety of online sources, social media accounts and the comments on women’s websites.”

Both the women’s weeklies and monthlies took a beating in the last audit. In the six months to December 2012, Bauer Media’s  Cleoslumped 23.6%, Cosmopolitan fell 16.2%, Madison dropped 23.3% and Shop Till You Drop receded 14.9% year-on-year.

Likewise, Pacific Magazines’ InStyle dropped 8.2% and Marie Claire lost 9.6% of its sales, according to figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Every single weekly magazine declined in sales in last year’s fourth quarter.

Last week, editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly Helen McCabe told B&T she believed young women’s monthlies needed an overhaul across the board, and that this category had found its new guiding light in the form of Sharri Markson – newly appointed editor of Cleo.

Markson is a Walkley Award-winning journalist who has worked across mainstream newspapers and TV news. She has already signed Rosie Squires and Kevin Rudd’s daughter Jessica as columnists for the iconic young women’s monthly. 

Freedman's speech comes as the national magazine industry body, Magazine Publishers of Australia (MPA), campaigns to showcase the enduring power of magazines in fostering emotional connections with readers. 

According to the industry body, magazines are still critical in driving consumers to purchase. 

Please login with linkedin to comment

Latest News

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Facebook Inc., listens as Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, not pictured, speaks during a town hall meeting at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015. Prime Minister Modi plans on connecting 600,000 villages across India using fiber optic cable as part of his
  • Technology

“No F*cking Way!”: Pink Floyd Frontman Refused To Give Mark Zuckerberg Rights To Song

Roger Waters, co-founder of Pink Floyd, said he refused to give Mark Zuckerberg the rights to use hit song Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two). Waters was speaking at a pro-Julian Assange event when he said that he had been offered a “huge, huge amount of money” for the use of the 1979 hit […]

Recommended

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Accor Celebrates Aussie & NZ Cities With New ‘Go ALL Out’ Campaign
  • Campaigns

Accor Celebrates Aussie & NZ Cities With New ‘Go ALL Out’ Campaign

Hospitality giant Accor is shining a light on the joy of cities through its newest campaign, ‘Go ALL Out’, which launches in Australia and New Zealand today. The gateway to the ‘Go ALL Out’ campaign is ALL – Accor Live Limitless, a lifestyle loyalty program that integrates rewards, services and experiences throughout the Accor portfolio […]

Marketing Firm Silverbean Set To Double Headcount To Support New Client Wins
  • Marketing

Marketing Firm Silverbean Set To Double Headcount To Support New Client Wins

Global affiliate and partner marketing firm Silverbean has secured new contracts with 13 major Australian brands and is now working to double the size of its Asia-Pacific team. Silverbean launched in Australia in 2019 and has seen steady growth through its work with retailers. Now, with 15 new brands joining the Silverbean portfolio, the agency […]

Xandr Launches New Guide Exploring The Future Of Identity
  • Advertising
  • Technology

Xandr Launches New Guide Exploring The Future Of Identity

Xandr, AT&T’s advanced advertising company, today released “Shaping the Future of Identity,” an industry guide exploring the approaches for buyers and sellers, as well as market participants, as they evaluate identity solutions in preparation for a future without third-party cookies.

GTI Appoints New GM Of Marketing & Strategy, Snares Fresh Client
  • Marketing

GTI Appoints New GM Of Marketing & Strategy, Snares Fresh Client

Tourism PR and marketing agency GTI has announced the appointment of longtime media executive Jenny Pham as its new general manager of marketing and strategy. Pham (pictured above) will lead the agency’s marketing division with responsibility for strategy, media and consumer marketing, while GTI founder and managing director Sarah Anderson remains as the day-to-day lead […]

Hospitality Networking Platform Clipboard Launches Equity Crowdfunding Campaign
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing

Hospitality Networking Platform Clipboard Launches Equity Crowdfunding Campaign

Clipboard, a free professional networking platform for the hospitality industry, has announced it will seek to raise its next round of funding via equity crowdfunding platform Birchal. This will power its vision to transform the way the fragmented hospitality industry connects, shares experiences, markets and recruits. With a growing member database of over 24,000 hospitality […]