Magazines Underperform Online

In the ongoing race to hook Web readers with engaging features, newspapers are trouncing magazines, according to a study released late last week by Washington, D.C. PR agency The Bivings Group.

"In terms of online functionality, newspaper websites clearly outperform magazine websites, even considering all of the problems with the newspaper industry's general online strategy," the report said. "Despite the fact that magazines have succeeded in providing online content that enhances printed content, the availability of various Web 2.0 features on magazine websites was disappointing."

For the study, The Bivings Group analyzed the online offerings of the top 50 most circulated magazines in America to determine the degree to which the magazine industry is using the Internet.

Volatile circulation figures for magazines, coupled with aging readership and declining advertising dollars, place a greater emphasis on the online programs of these publications, as the report makes clear. "By embarking on more aggressive Web strategies that incorporate the technology of today's Web 2.0 environment, magazines can use expanded online readership to supplement print subscriptions."

Possibly the most disappointing finding, the report said, was the lack of reporter blogs employed by magazines' sites.

"Blogs are rapidly becoming a core component of the online habits of American Internet users, and are an easy and effective way to add personality and direct communication to any Web program," according to Bivings. "Therefore, it is a major oversight for 62% of America's top magazines to omit blogs from their online strategies."

In many other core categories--such as video, podcasts, and comments on articles--magazines consistently underperform compared to the Web sites of newspapers, according to Bivings.

Of the top 50 magazines, just 34% offer video content, 14% offer podcasts, and 8% allow users to comment on articles. These figures are dwarfed by the offerings of the top 50 newspapers.

The most popular Web feature for magazine Web sites, RSS feeds, is only offered by 48%--24 magazines--of the nation's top 50 magazines. In contrast, the most popular Web feature offered by the top 50 newspaper Web sites--reporter blogs--is offered by 92% of online newspapers. In addition, just three of the top 50 magazines--6%--used a system of tags for searching and organizing their Web sites: Popular Science, US Weekly, and Parenting.

Of the 50 most circulated magazines reviewed, the report singled out Time as a current model of excellence.

"Realizing that interest in its broad content, weekly news summary format is declining, Time has adopted an especially aggressive online strategy to buoy its readership base," Bivings observed. "While most other magazines use their websites as a supplement to their print editions, Time is one magazine that has the potential to go completely digital, leaving its print version behind."

One initiative taken by Time that was noteworthy was incorporating its content with sister company CNN.com. "This strategy has enabled Time to provide regularly updated news content online and a relatively advanced Web strategy." The Bivings Group also singled out Dennis Publishing's Maxim for its impressive use of the Internet.

The group's most recent study builds on a previous research study, which assessed the use of the Internet by America's newspapers.

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