• by John Gaffney , October 28, 2002

Doing The Right Thing: For magazines, this has been a year of nasty challenges met by heady solutions. Total circulation is down. Subscription revenue is down. So are ad pages and ad revenue compared to last year. As a big piece in The New York Times pointed out yesterday, publishers are looking for new revenue streams. But, you know what, I say magazines have done an excellent job so far this year of doing exactly that. I don’t think for a minute that any magazine that considers itself anything but an obscure trade journal has a shot at driving up sub prices to catch an appreciable amount of revenue. But look at all the other things the more aggressive publishers have done to keep the bottom line healthy. Events and promotions have added value to advertisers looking for more bang for the buck in a tough time. Special sections, from what I could see, kept a reasonable level of editorial integrity while propping up ad dollars. And big media companies like AOL/TW and Primedia used their internal strengths to keep circulation promotion active. Tough times, yes. But the magazine industry could have sold out a lot more this year, and been excused for it.

Here’s The Pitch: I believe baseball has to make the following changes to remain a compelling ad buy next year. One: It needs to start promoting players, not teams, to capture fans. American sports are driven by the Michael Jordans, Derek Jeters and Mia Hamms. Teams have very little to with it. Two: It needs to promote local matchups and rivalries more intensely. I believe baseball does better as a local than a national sport. Three: Provide more sponsorship opportunities for advertisers, especially advertisers that are willing to create programs around the entire season as Master Card did this year. Four: The biggest thing baseball has to do is get its head into the 21st century. I for one, am tired of seeing the game’s greatest achievements trotted out at every opportunity. To reach a young audience, be young. Respect the old-timers but leave them off the field.

Parting Shot: I wouldn’t watch Geraldo Rivera give me a tour through an Iraqi chemical factory for all the shares in Newscorp.