Periodical Publishing
Encyclopedia of Global Industries (3rd ed.) › Paper and Allied Products: Paper Mills (2003)
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Periodical Publishing
SIC 2721NAICS 511120Periodical publishers develop, publish, and market all kinds of magazines and journals, and may or may not perform their own printing. Publishers also may or may not have electronic Web versions of the issue currently on the stands. See also Newspaper Publishing and Printing, Commercial.INDUSTRY SNAPSHOTThe international periodicals industry is a major source of information and entertainment and serves as a vital advertising medium for other industries. The world's most popular kinds of periodicals are news, sports, lifestyle, outdoor, and computer magazines. From the late 1990s through the early 2000s, the periodical publishing industry grew around the world with modest advances in mature markets, such as Europe and the United States, and more marked growth in developing markets, such as Asia and South America. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the industry suffered slower sales, massive returns of single-copy issues, and at some publishing houses, employee layoffs.Following close after that disaster came the anthrax-related deaths of postal workers, leading consumers to throw away unread direct-mail solicitations they received and causing even industry leaders such as Reader's Digest to put direct mailings temporarily on hold. Nevertheless, a handful of magazines, such as People, sold well. Moreover, while men's magazines in general dropped dramatically in sales and women's magazines dropped or rose depending on title, some publications actually gained ad pages. These included outdoor magazines, because consumers turned to getaways in print for a vicarious experience while homebound.A study by the Graphic Arts Marketing Information Service, entitled "Magazines in the 2000-2010 Era," estimated industry growth to be constant at around 5 percent. It concluded that classes of magazines would have different experiences. For example, weekly news magazines and trade publications were expected to see moderate decline due to Web competition.New launches are always risky, with about 50 percent folding within twelve months, according to University of Mississippi journalism professor Samir Husni, who keeps track of all launches in his annual Samir Husni's Guide to New Consumer Magazines. New magazine titles released in late 2001 and 2002 were on particularly shaky ground, given the dry-up in ad sales and loss of direct mail effectiveness in the short run. In recent years, the most stunning magazine launch in terms of public recognition and overall success has been Oprah Winfrey's O. In 2002, Winfrey announced plans to launch a South African edition of her magazine.Because publishers neared saturation levels in mature markets, with all sorts of periodicals covering a plethora of topics, some of th...See the full content of this document
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