Why is it that generally, magazines with good content and quality fail to maintain their zing over time?

Question

I am specifically talking about India and Indian magazines but the question is open for all opinions and answers.

Can we blame ourselves for our poor taste in literature or, is it just that a magazine has a certain limit beyond which it is either afraid to or is unable to step out and explore.

Great children's Hindi magazines like Champak, Nandan, Balhans, ChandaMama which used to be published in multiple Indian languages and were loaded with great infotainment and literature when I was a kid. (I am only 19 myself) are still surviving in the market but a GREAT deal of compromise in terms of quality is apparent there. Same is the case with Kadambari, DharmYug (out of print) and other grown-ups' magazines.

What leads to the ultimate downhill fall of a good magazine?

(I am categorizing this question under "Books and Authors" and not "Entertainment> Magazines" because my concern is inclined specially towards literary magazines.)

Answer 1

i am not familiar with these publications. i have no definite answer as to why good quality (anything) often fails to stand the test of time. but i'll try and brainstorm a few reasons as to why this may be.

psychologically speaking, people tend to rest on their laurels sometimes after a run of success. it could be that the magazines you speak of are now produced by people whose concern is no longer that of quality, but of profit. perhaps they underestimate the intelligence of their target audience. television critics and audiences in america bemoan the fact that quality programs can't thrive on commercial networks because they are too unorthodox, too daring, too different. imagine that.

businesses sometimes get handed on along to those who don't share the original creator's desire for quality. many third generation businesses in america (think farms, restaurants, small independent retail or service businesses) are now foundering because great grandson giovanni the third is not willing to put forth the same level of hard work that his grandfather did upon starting the business: generational differences? complacency? who really knows? but it seems inevitable that the small unique valuable things in life eventually get gobbled up by large corporations.... witness the globalization of brand names.

times change too... do these magazines have an online counterpart which now gets the majority of the staff's attention? periodical circulation is down and dropping, and many print media offer a website as an alternate way to promote or present their products.

and here's a final guess which may be off target, but could it be that the reader's (yours, in this case) tastes have changed, and what impressed you years ago no longer seems so impressive today? the loss is keenly felt in any event.

Answer 2

Hi Batman,

I have no clue what the answer might be to your question. I will add some food for thought, but it may not apply to the publications in your country. I speak only from my thoughts and experiences as a rural American.

As home-schoolers, we were interested in visiting the public library -- rather than the one in the public school. We were interested in the classics, non-fiction, reference, and a certain amount of modern literature. We found it fascinating that these were the things that we could find in the $.10 (ten cent) book sale in the library basement. My son used to go to the library to feed off the stuff that the librarian was about to throw out! He picked up biographies, most of the Louisa May Alcott books, the Black Stallion books, Shakespeare, geography books, excellent maps, Audubon books, books about local laws and history, etc... We couldn't understand it. Isn't the library the place to go to learn about such things? These were the things we were looking for, and the librarian just gave us the books. The reason? No one takes out those kind of books. Most people are interested in the recent stuff. Tell-all biographies. Stories from movies. The current television trends. It seems there is a popular culture that inhabits the library.

A popular local magazine was strictly photos and essays about life in our state. It was a gorgeous magazine with a huge readership. The pictures were frameable, and the stories were in-depth and interesting. A few years ago, they introduced advertising. When they did that, the quality of the photographs went down. The stories became shorter and less interesting. The ads filled the pages. The magazine still sells well. There are people who like to spend money on the types of "homey" products and vacation opportunities that the magazine now promotes. However, I think there must be a different readership. It is a totally different magazine!

Who sells the popular trends? It's all successful marketing. Successful marketing sells a movie franchise and creates a desire for more "stuff" in that franchise. And the local magazine? Money and marketing. The magazine is an expensive magazine -- even with advertisements. Now they make the money from the purchase of the magazine AND the advertisements.

I don't know, but your magazines may be victims to a few things.

Poor marketing -- Perhaps they just aren't finding a sustainable market for their particular type of magazine. I imagine it exists. (They should try to tap home schoolers.)

Popular culture -- Perhaps popular culture is drawing away the readership from original works to franchised productions. The marketing there is sure to be effective.

Money itself -- It may be that the money the magazines were able to bring in just couldn't sustain the publication. Perhaps the types of people who might read those magazines aren't the people who have the big money. It's possible that the same people are now publishing another magazine with a bigger readership or that reaches out to a wealthier group of people.

Also, the magazines that you love might be available through other sources. You might try an internet search to see if you can buy them mail order through the publisher or through a specialized outlet.

I don't know about marketing, and I don't read many magazines. My thoughts are limited to my experience finding good reading materials for my children.

Answer 3

Friend Batman,
I also know all these titles and roded the great books when i was child too, the champak specially. I think that these magazines don't just combined up with today's modernness and to fast to furious type life. But not too forget that the type of entertainment they provided us today's hot shots can never ever compare too be. I know that day when one of my story i have send-ed to Delhi prakashan Champak has been published.

Today i know that it will have many wrong words and sentences that have just been corrected and printed. Where is the spirit now? Many magazines just ended their life span. I will like to take your concern to our other treasure too that often think-ed as a black gold or never estimated right. Our book stand novel or mystery novel which we say in Hindi "Upnayas". Like Surendra Mohan Pathak and many more they never credited with the right honor they always think-ed as third class material writer, why? If in foreign or anywhere else 300 pages novel will be available then it will cost around 10$ and in India it is only rs 30 or 40/-.

But will never understand the real Indian writing treasure. When Kadambari, DharmYug can be neglected then anything can happen. Hope and just pray for them.$

Answer 4

I agree with Patzky....likewise, I am not familiar with those particular magazines, but...

Everything changes. Period!

The magazines cannot follow the same format for too long. It gets boring, and they will lose readers.

If they change too much too fast, they will alienate their readers. The magazines focus may change, and/or the readers interests may change.

The trick is to know where to go, how far to go, and when to do it.

The ultimate downfall of a good magazine? Not being able to properly predict the future interests of its audience.

Answer 5

Three things, pure and simple;
Easy access to virtually everything on the internet
Basic production materials (paper, ink, etc) too expensive
Distribution costs make them no longer profitable.

Answer 6

Maybe it is because they were making so much money, they descided to go overboard.