Launching print products in a digital age

Watch BZ Media president Ted Bahr explain why our company is bullish about print publishing — even though we recently scaled back the launch of Systems Management News.

Earlier this week, Ted was interviewed on “From Print to Digital,” a Web-based television show from Scribe Media. This week’s episode focused on publishers bucking the Web-über-alles trend. We’re proud to be heading in the opposite direction from many of our competitors.

The description of the 34-minute show says,

What’s changed about launching a print magazine in a Web world? In the latest installment of ‘From Print to Digital,’ we pose the question to Mark Taussig, publisher of ecohome (35,000 circulation), which in February was introduced as Green Products and Technology, and Ted Bahr, publisher of Systems Management News (40,000 circulation), which rolled out in March.

Launching a print magazine even in good times is a gamble, but going to market with an ink-on-paper product amid an economic slowdown could be a real bear. For Bahr and Taussig, it hasn’t been easy; Bahr had to dial back the frequency of Systems Management News to monthly from biweekly and both publications debuted fairly late in the ‘08 budget season. However, they say they’re in it for the long haul and insist they have the data to justify the investments.

Still, the onus is on print products to now more than ever have rock-solid content (that differentiates itself from online content), high-quality photography and high-quality paper. As Taussig put it: “You have to maximize the experience that print can deliver.”

And while the younger crowd may be wedded to the Web, middle managers still appreciate (and rely) on print media, Taussig and Bahr say. The bottom line: as long as there is an audience that wants to receive a print product and advertisers want to support it, print products will continue to roll off the presses.

Watch and enjoy! I certainly did.