Times Magazine Launch
Saturday saw The Times replace its Review section with The Times Magazine, described by the paper itself as having a “strikingly original design and format.”
Readers expecting a glossy supplement similar in style to the Sunday Times Magazine would have been disappointed. Like the review section it has replaced it is stapled newsprint, slightly smaller than tabloid, similar in appearance to the Guardian Weekend section and the Independent on Sunday’s Review.
The new magazine is the latest move by The Times to strengthen its position in the Saturday market place. It is intended to be a stand-alone aside from the rest of the Saturday edition of the newspaper. It is aimed at a younger market than the main paper with the editorial intended to be more informal. With the exception of the Telegraph, The Times has the oldest age profile of all the quality dailies with only 19% of its readers being in the 25-34 age group. This compares to 22% of Guardian readers and 25% of Independent readers.
Proof that the paper is targeting younger readers with its latest launch can be found on the front cover, which carries a picture of Elvis Costello surrounded by tiny black and white boxes that contain the words “Elvis on Strings”. The first issue is a bumper 84-pages, due to a 36-page fashion special occupying the centre of the magazine. The pagination for following issues is likely to be around 64. The fashion supplement is clearly another attempt to lure younger readers; while the content of this section is varied some of its attraction may be lost by not being printed on glossy paper.
Several sections of the magazine have been inherited from the Review, including PHS, Childhood and Travel, while new additions include a focus on science and the natural world.
Features include the Elvis Costello interview, a topical report on detention centres for young offenders and an investigation into the plight of Kurdish women.
The first issue of The Times Magazine included 32 pages of display advertising. Those taking double page spreads included Chrysler International, Honda, Audi, Austin Reed, Dunhill, Dash and Silk Cut.
Kate Lynch from Leo Burnett is fairly sceptical about the new magazine seeing the change from the Review section as a “cosmetic” one. She says “The content is more or less identical and whilst the new ‘Magazine’ is twice the size of last week’s review, a 36-page fashion feature accounts for the majority of those extra pages. As for the ‘distinctive design work’, yes, the cover is striking but is this to be a constant feature.”
Abbott Mead Vicker’s Mike Goodman takes a similar view describing the launch as “a non-event.” He feels the magazine is just a “fuller Saturday Review” giving the impression of a heavier slower read. As far as the paper gaining a younger readership is concerned he believes younger readers, who spend less time reading anyway, will find it too wordy.