Magazines ’96 Calls Publishers On-Line

The keynote speech at the PPA Magazines’96 Conference this morning called publishers to re-double their efforts in using computers as a means of communication. Bob Findlay of Findlay Publications, Deputy Chairman of the PPA said that the emergence of the computer will complete a hat trick for the 20th Century after radio and television, and will be just as important.

Much of the hype regarding the new media has been regarding the Internet, and consumer magazines, but according to Bob much of the action has been within the business-to-business world, and this is where he believes the profits will be. New media needs new content, to be born from understanding the market, and publishers are best placed to provide this.

He finished his vision of the future by saying he hopes publishers will “enter the next Century as ‘merchant adventurers’.

Terry Mansfield of the National Magazine Company, and chairman of the PPA, highlighted the theme of this year’s conference, the Magic of Magazines, by appearing “magically” on stage. “Magazines are magic. They reach the parts that other media do not.” He reassured delegates that the creativity of magazines will be a driving force in the new opportunities and markets of the future.