Okay, so they are hardly innovative, considering that the word has been around since at least 1866, but if not for these places, I would totally miss browsing around and discovering new or improved magazines, such as the updated version of Popular Mechanics, American Heritage: Invention and Technology, Technology Review, and my newest fixation, Monocle.
Not your father’s Monocle, this gorgeous, glossy (and expensive) magazine was founded by Wallpaper*’s Tyler Brûlé in 2007. The magazine markets itself as a globalist perspective on international affairs, culture and design meant for worldly, cosmopolitan readers. It only appears in print ten times a year but is updated constantly at Monocle.com. What is interesting is that the website contains an interactive archive available only to paid subscribers, which might just be a helpful model for other print media to follow.
Developed with an international audience in mind, Monocle seeks information across a variety of sectors, and by commissioning stories out of London, New York and Tokyo, it offers immeditate coverage from different time zones and events. By functioning more like a wire service than a periodical, Monocle’s reporters are able to take the time to unearth stories untouched by other sources, and with its additional use of the online platform, Monocle leverages other media, offering a wide array of films, slide shows, and audio reports to provide greater depth to its stories.
While it certainly embraces many aspects of old-school journalism — utilizing strong writing from journalists who’ve written for the the New York Times, the Independent, the BBC, etc., and lots of beautiful images — the magazine’s use of subscription and multimedia online archives is a forward-thinking one. According to editor Andrew Tuck in an interview with the Jakarta Globe, “the traditional way that magazines make money is through newsstands and subscriptions. This is a new take on the media model. No one else has done it.” And apparently the model is working, because while many print publications have folded during these tough economic times, Monocle has been able to thrive by providing information on this multi-platform level.
Speaking of print publications folding, for those of you with your E-Readers, I get it–you want the convenience and immediacy that those devices provide–but I really think you lose something by giving up the thrill of the hunt, or the excitement you feel when you discover something new that you can hand over to someone else to enjoy as much as I’ve enjoyed finding this magazine.
Idea Management