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[/responsive]In an interesting twist to the typical year-end wrap up, Dead Tree Edition gives us the “10 words that summarized what happened to publishing in 2014.”
From the political dilly-dallying that lost the USPS its “quorum” to the ongoing debate on “native advertising,” it’s hard to choose just 10 key issues. But as usual, D. Eadward Tree does a yeoman’s job distilling 365 days into a digestible list.
We won’t give you the complete list here, because his full article is worth a read. There are a few, however, than really hit home to us, including “niche” and the impact highly target publications are having on the industry, with magazine launches up in 2014 over the previous year.
“Plateau” made the list, referring to both the leveling off of e-book sales in relation to the entire market and the lackluster growth in digital magazines in 2014. As a result, we are seeing less hysteria in the market place when people talk about print, no longer referring to it as on life support but rather in transition to new business models that make more sense.
And as the industry makes those transitions, “measurement” and “accountability” become critical. The “magazine media” industry (another 2014 hot word) is redefining itself and the way it does business. Industry leaders have become more critical of the promise of cheap digital advertising, while at the same time working to gain ground in how to understand and measure success in a multi-channel media environment.
We can only wonder at what will make the list by the end of this year. We predict 2015 will be a year of innovation and optimism in publishing, as more digital companies launch print titles and special-interest publishers continue to grow.