The magazine’s demise is a good example of why big challenges require full attention–and not half-measures.
The big design news of the week–first broken here–was the closing of I.D. Magazine, an institution in the industry whose demise came as a shock to many. In its 55 years in publication, it influenced and educated generations of designers.
events I witnessed, but I’ve verified these with other former I.D.
“I.D. was treated as a one-size-fits-all commodity, no different, really, from any other magazine in F+W’s stable,” says Julie Lasky, I.D.‘s editor from 2002-2009. “Requests to give special consideration to our readers, advertisers or culture were usually considered whiny and gratuitous.” The chief example of that: As the Web exploded as a profitable design destination–on sites such as Core 77, MocoLoco, Designboom, and Dezeen—I.D. was left behind, without the resources to follow its audience. “We presented lots of ideas on how to fix that,” says Jill Singer, I.D.‘s managing editor from 2005-2009. But one look a the magazine’s site proves that didn’t happen.
F+W, meanwhile, shrank the editorial staff for four to two, making additional online content impossible to produce.
I.D.‘s editors ran the awards, the profits it made, of around $200,000 a year, went instead to a competitions division at F+W. That money would have made I.D., which roughly broke even on costs of around $2 million a year, a profitable enterprise. F+W plans on continuing the awards, despite the magazine’s demise.
I think our challenges are shared by many legacy print media companies. As you know from the media press, industry-wide, including I.D., 429 print titles have been shuttered so far this year; 613 were shut down in 2008, while 643 were closed in 2007. Frankly, all things considered, even though our “numbers” – paid subscribers, newsstand sales, and advertising sales — were down pretty significantly since 2007 we think our team hung pretty tough. Looking into the crystal ball for next year, we’re not prepared to call a print advertising recovery, and our research shows that our readers won’t pay more for the magazine (confirmed, unfortunately, by one of your blog respondents from yesterday). The closing of I.D. magazine in print was a conclusion reached after a valiant effort over many years on the part of its staff; we mourn its closing and the dislocation to its staff just as much – if not more – than you.