Printed Newsletters and Magazines are Disappearing

NOTE: This article contains personal opinions.

I received a sad note in the mail recently. It came from Debbie Roberge, Editor and Publisher of "The Pine Cone and Tassel," an excellent newsletter devoted to genealogy research in the State of Maine. I have subscribed to this newsletter for several years and was saddened to read Debbie's note. She wrote (in part):

It is with deep regret that I must inform you that "The Pine Cone and Tassel" will cease publication.

Debbie went on for a bit more to explain the reasons for her decision. She specifically cited the cost of gasoline required to do research trips around the state and stated that she could not pass those expenses on to her subscribers. She didn't cite printing and postage costs although I suspect those were also significant. Whatever the root causes, she states that she is unable to continue publication due to financial reasons.

It is interesting to note that Debbie also runs a web site at http://www.pineconeandtassle.com but has always focused primarily on the printed newsletter.

The letter was sad but certainly was not a surprise. Printed genealogy newsletters and magazines alike are disappearing these days. Not only are smaller publications like "The Pine Cone and Tassel" disappearing, but in recent years we also have lost several of the larger, glossy magazines. Genealogical Computing magazine and Heritage Quest Magazine have both disappeared. Everton's Genealogical Helper also disappeared for a while but has since resurfaced under new ownership. Genealogy societies are also feeling the pinch; several have reduced the number of pages in each edition.

Indeed, serving a specialty marketplace with a limited audience is difficult in this day and age of rising fuel prices, printing costs, and postage expenses. I suspect we will see more printed genealogy publications disappear before long.

There is some good news, however. Family Tree Magazine is still in operation and producing a great bi-monthly magazine. (Family Tree Magazine in the United States produced by F+W Publications should not be confused with a British magazine of the same name produced by ABM Publishing Ltd. Both are excellent publications.) The Generations Network continues to publish Ancestry Magazine, another bi-monthly publication, while Family Chronicle magazine appears to be thriving, having launched both Internet Genealogy Magazine and History Magazine in recent years.

So how do some magazines and newsletters survive and grow while others seem to whither away? I am sure there are several answers, involving the expertise of the managers, the skill at selecting relevant articles, the ability to find advertisers, and more. However, one factor that jumps out at me is the Internet.

NOTE: I’ll point out that I am not exactly an unbiased observer, as I publish an Internet publication: Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter.

First of all, let's take a look at the list of publications that have folded in the past few years. With the exception of Genealogical Computing, most had no Internet-related material. Oh, they may have carried an occasional article about "favorite genealogy web sites" or something similar, but most were what I would call "regular printed magazines." I would certainly apply that label to "The Pine Cone and Tassel" as well as to Heritage Quest Magazine. Both were full of excellent genealogy articles, but both were distributed by traditional (and expensive) methods: printing on paper and distributing via standard mail. Both had web sites that seemed to serve only as "online brochures:" the web sites only provided advertising for the magazine. The sites did not contain (much) content from the printed version.

Now let's compare that to the other magazines that have survived:

Family Tree Magazine: a very active web site at http://www.familytreemagazine.com, complete with additional material that doesn't appear in the printed version. In effect, Family Tree Magazine is a combined on-line and off-line magazine.

Family Chronicle magazine, Internet Genealogy magazine and History Magazine: these three publications from Moorshead Magazines Ltd. have done an excellent job of leveraging the Internet to attract new subscribers. In fact, subscribers can elect to have Internet Genealogy magazine delivered via traditional means as a printed magazine that arrives in the mail or as an "e-publication" that arrives in e-mail. Those who subscribe to the online edition receive a small discount. Details may be found at http://www.familychronicle.com.

At first glance, Ancestry Magazine appears to be a traditional printed magazine. However, it is backed by The Generations Network, owners of the largest online genealogy web sites in the world as well as the most powerful advertising department in genealogy. The magazine's web site at http://www.ancestrymagazine.com seems underpowered, but the magazine continues because of its past reputation, its excellent articles from top-notch authors, and The Generations Network’s powerhouse advertising department. Even with this power and expertise, the company could not keep afloat the sister publication, Genealogical Computing.

So, in summation, it appears the secret of success is the Internet. Of course, the Internet should not be used simply as an advertising medium; the successful magazines seem to have printed editions that are fully integrated with and supplemented by their web sites.

Of course, some genealogy publications are purely online efforts. I'll proudly point out that Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter has been in business for more than twelve years. Although a tiny effort with tightly controlled expenses, this daily e-publication continues to publish and is still growing at a modest rate with both a free version and a $19.95/year "Plus Edition." It is obviously tightly integrated with the Internet. In fact, it is only available on the web or in e-mail.

Digital Genealogist is a rather new (18 months) e-magazine edited and produced by noted genealogy author and editor Liz Kelley Kerstens, CG, CGL. The magazine focuses on the use of technology in genealogy and its various applications. This bi-monthly publication sells for $19.95 a year and has produced excellent articles, published in PDF format. This e-publication is obviously tightly integrated with the web. The Digital Genealogist is only available by e-mail. Details may be found at http://www.digitalgenealogist.com.

Is there a lesson or two to be learned from all of this? I think so. The first lesson is nothing new: we all are very aware of rising expenses in almost every endeavor in life. Publishing newsletters and magazines is no exception: printing, postage, and even office expenses climb dramatically every year. If a magazine raises its subscription fees to match the rising expenses, the magazine's owners soon find themselves without subscribers. This creates a fascinating quandary, but solutions are available. Avoiding printing costs and postage costs can lead to a financially successful endeavor: publish on the web and/or by e-mail.

Another lesson to be learned is that readers expect to see a web site that includes or at least supplements the printed publication. Publishing solely on paper appears to be a business model that is fading away. Newspapers are abandoning that model, national magazines are adding interactive web sites to attract readers, and now genealogy magazines need to do the same. The majority of the successful genealogy publications publish both on paper and online or perhaps solely online.

If you are thinking of starting a new publication or perhaps resuscitating an existing publication that is saddled with high expenses, you might conceive a plan that is at least partially Internet-based. Publish online or else supplement your printed material with online content. There are several examples today that prove that the online business model works and works well.

Comments

[Miriam Wernon]

Here's another reason: all those magazines are really aimed at beginners, not experienced or advanced users. So after a while the users move on.

BTW the pineconeandtassle.com link does not work.

[Joy Rich]

The blog of the Maine Genealogical Society quotes Debbie Roberge's note as saying "But also with more and more information on the Internet for free, less and less people wanted to pay for a newsletter that couldn’t guarantee them the information they were looking for."

[Gloria Ishida]

Clicking on pineconeandtassel web site as above brought message "could not be found".

[Randy Buss]

Note that Heritage Quest was bought up and incorporated into Everton's Genealogical Helper or whatever its current title is. I think it is carried by Borders (only because I don't recall seeing it at the Barnes and Noble store I stopped at last night).

My one complaint about the thriving magazines is that they don't have more "how to" computer articles like the British magazines do (or at least one does). This is a complaint I have about American computer magazines, too - too much hardware and software reviews and not enough "step throughs" other than setting up webpages. I can't think of examples of projects I'm thinking of, but maybe something on the line of how to create online or CD/DVD scrapbooks for the relatives, setting up family newsletters, sorting and annotating photos, etc. - something that I'm at a basic level and would like to improve. I always feel like I get about a tenth of the functionality of my computer that I could be getting. (My examples may be a little lame. I remember one of the first issues of FamilyPC showed how to make personal "baseball cards", something that would be adapatable to genealogy. Or there was another computer magazine that had a lot of projects, but did not survive past maybe six issues - it came out during a period when there was a bit of a paper shortage and as a new startup couldn't survive the increased costs right then.)

[Judith Arnn-Knight]

Please excuse my being off-topic but there is an excellent computer magazine "Smart Computing" that I have taken for several years. It blends reviews with actual hands-on problem solving. I think Richard may have recommended it in this newsletter a long time ago; if not it was a recommendation in a newsletter that I read. In addition to the journal itself they have a fantastic tech support forum for subscribers. I have yet to post any question for assistance that was not promptly answered by another subscriber or the forum supervisor.

Needless to say this is not a genealogy journal but it is extremely helpful in computer basics for those of us that are not computer experts. It may be too basic if you are skilled at hardware/software but for those of us that are not I heartily recommend it

www.smartcomputing.com

[Betty]

Hello. It is sad that magazines that you can hold in your hands and read are slowly disappearing. I much prefer that to attempting to read a magazine on-line.

Definitely off-topic but I just found out that the "Sesame Street" magazine has stopped publication. There is still a web site for it. But, as with genealogy researchers, how many families have a computer with the Internet - and know how to use it? "Low-income families" are still a major part of our society and should be considered when making decisions.

By the way, I've been researching my KIDDER and WILKINS ancestors in Maine, 1700's to 1900's, for 15 years. And, I don't remember hearing about "The Pine Cone and Tassel."

[Colleen]

Just think about all of us graphic designers and the writers that have lost their jobs because magazines and newsletters are no longer in print.

[Diane]

I find I like reading print magazines and look forward to their arrival, but storage has become a problem. I was originally keeping for two years, but now I've begun buying the CD versions at the end of the year and giving my old issues away.

Most of the smaller genealogy societies I belong to, now distribute their newsletters via pdf file.

I too would like to see some more step-by-step how-to projects. Show me how to make one digitized scrapbook page and more regarding computer usage.

[Debbie Roberge]

Thank you Dick for the kind words you have written about my former newsletter "The Pine Cone and Tassel". It was something I really loved doing for the past five years and gas was one of the contributing factors to disbanding it. At my highest point I had over 250 subscribers, but when renewals went out for the sixth year only 50 were going to renew. Upon contacting many of the former subscribers they told me that they could find more and more information for "free" on the internet, so why pay for it. Some even said they didn't care about "sources" that I gave with each article. To the ones who commented they never heard of my newsletter I just want to say I advertised in different magazines which was one of my biggest expenses with no luck. I am sorry you didn't get to know me, maybe I just didn't advertise in the right places.

[Ellen Healy]

I think printed genealogical magazines have value even for the experienced genealogist. I am not experienced by any stretch of the imagination, but I've found that reading each issue jogs the mind about some point that may have gotten pushed way back in the brain. I also share my magazines with my cousin and my genealogy society. I bring the latest issues; members look at them and decide if they want to go and buy their own copy.

[Pam]

As I read this post formed an informal comparison to other areas where print publications have faded. No Depression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Depression_(magazine) recently published it's last print magazine, as did Bluegrass Now: http://www.bluegrassnow.com . While these publications featured material quite different from those you mention, the trend is clear.

I think the first person who can develop a truly usable, affordable, digital reader or electronic display tool is going to make a little money. And I will certainly appreciate it, I could use something other than my laptop to curl up with (and read from).

[Susie Perkins]

With more and more printed magazines being no longer published is sad. While some of them offer PDF or whatever method they have to be of benefit, think of the amount of ink that you are using to print and save this information. Ink is highter than car gas, saving to a CD is a solutio, but, will that CD still be availabale when you need to read something you remember reading. Is there an index or visible index on the cover? My point, ink is expensive. My well used quarterlies have been donated to a new up coming genealogy society and have helped several ladies that have had problems with research. Lets keep the printed copies.

[Stephanie Weiner]

As far as I know, print still has the longest shelf life (please correct me
if I'm wrong here!). So, it appears that much current knowledge will no longer be available 50-100 years hence if info transfers to electronic media.

[Theodore Rice]

I think if I was starting a magazine today I would look first to publishing it on the web, and then offer a printed version to those who wanted it for whatever additional cost was necessary to cover printing and postage.

This is the way things are headed, like it or not. Many magazines are offering websites that complement their printed edition at present, as mentioned by others, but this is just a step on the way to totally web based publication. As fuel and postage rates rise, this trend will only accelerate.

Of course, it is going to be necessary to charge enough to cover web based publication. However much people try to cling to the "free" model, it just won't work. Advertising may be able to cover some of the cost, and advertising also is increasingly moving to the web.

Before it becomes too popular, however, we need better web based readers than conventional computers. The Kindle is a step in the right direction. Other readers are coming out. Right now they are too expensive and not standardized.

For those who want print, machines like the Espresso Book Machine, which publishes on demand, may eventually fill the need.

Those who don't have computers will have a problem, but used computers are almost free and internet access is cheap. If they can't afford that, they probably can't afford a subscription to a print publication either. Then there is always the library and internet cafes.

[Linda]

In your list of current magazines you left out Family Chronicles' newest publication, "Discovering Family History". It's first issue was May/June 2008. It's aimed at new researchers, but has articles of interest to others as well. There's a free issue online.

[Lois]

The Publishers of Family Chronicles, etc. had the advantage of the lower Canadian Dollar until recently. It remains to be seen whether they can thrive with the currency of their major market now around par with their. Of course, if their competition has disappeared, their prospects are good. I find Ancestry magazine to be good for the waiting room at the office but way too light and fluffy to hold one's interest for long. The new Everton's Genealogical Helper has a really different, less readable format. The English magazines cost so much more. That leaves Family Chronicle and Family Tree. Since I much prefer paper magazines and books (lap tops don't cut it in the backyard), I hope there is a big enough market for both to thrive. I would like to see some articles aimed at more advanced readers, but perhaps that is not true of most of their current and potential readership.

[Diane Haddad]

Hi, everyone,
The print vs. digital issue is affecting the entire publishing industry. Family Tree Magazine has been going strong since our first issue in January 2000, and we have no plans to do away with our print edition. But we are finding that readers are accustomed to getting information in a variety of ways these days, so we’re responding with extra online content (as Dick mentioned), our weekly E-mail Update newsletter, back issues and special editions on CD, digital downloads of our State Research Guide articles, our blogs and online Forum, online videos and our recently launched podcast.

I love Dick's description of "a combined online and offline magazine." We hope that offering genealogists this variety of options will help them achieve their research goals and help keep us around for a long time to come.
Diane

[Jennifer Bumann]

Our problem isn't cost, which is certainly a factor, but lack of interest from any members of our society in helping to put out a newsletter. And those who have done it for a few years are burnt out. We do publish a short 2 page .pdf version and only print out enough to mail to libraries etc., but it only has news and upcoming events, little bits of that nature.

[Janet]

I agree with some of the others: I like having that printed magazine to read. For waiting, whether in doctors' offices or anywhere else, one is unlikely to have a computer handy to use to catch up on the latest genealogy articles. I keep a tote bag loaded with various genealogy sources in printed form that I take with me for just those "waiting times".