I'm not a huge fan of BBC Magazines - just because the Radio Times sells more copies than the Bible doesn't mean it's any good - but I must admit I was impressed by Deputy MD Nicholas Brett's upbeat assessment of his particular media. He's not selling the family paper farm to jump aboard the nebulous bandwagons of UGC, Citizen Journalism and the Blogosphere just yet.
Because the magazine industry actually has some pretty good things going for it: mags are driven by consumers rather than 'the news'; they can make money from cover charges as well as ads; and people actually want something 'real' and collectible to hold in their hands. This final point was clearly close to Mr Brett's heart, and he expounded at length on the science of making paper smell and feel nice. But he wouldn't be drawn on whether the BBC planned to package their magazines with 'novelty smells' such as freshly-baked bread or strawberries.
Oh, and I also like Nicholas Brett because he gave me a free subscription to Top Gear.
Because the magazine industry actually has some pretty good things going for it: mags are driven by consumers rather than 'the news'; they can make money from cover charges as well as ads; and people actually want something 'real' and collectible to hold in their hands. This final point was clearly close to Mr Brett's heart, and he expounded at length on the science of making paper smell and feel nice. But he wouldn't be drawn on whether the BBC planned to package their magazines with 'novelty smells' such as freshly-baked bread or strawberries.
Oh, and I also like Nicholas Brett because he gave me a free subscription to Top Gear.
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