Growth Pains & Gains
In review, 1997 was a boom year for
TechNews. The magazine's circulation climbed 51 percent, and its advertising
revenues increased 42 percent. A survey of our readers early in the year found
they judge TechNews the best magazine covering newspaper operations, beating out
such notable competitors as Editor & Publisher and Newspapers &
Technology.
Despite our growth and high ratings, 1997 was also a year for introspection-you might say we suffered a bit of an identity crisis. This is because the same readership survey that rated us so highly also showed a disparity in the strength of our readership by job function. People in production and operations are reading TechNews more frequently and thoroughly than those in advertising, circulation or the newsroom.
In the short term, this is to be expected. Production people live and breathe technology, while those on the business side focus more on revenue, and those in editorial on delivering great content. Hence the question: "Why worry about business and editorial readers at all? Why not simply be a production magazine?"
The answer is that technology drives every part of a newspaper organization, and the proper understanding and use of technology now is a crucial part of virtually everyone's job. Business and editorial people need up-to-date information and analysis on technical issues almost as much as production people do, and they need to understand the big technology picture throughout the organization, not just their piece of the puzzle. With that in mind, the editors made a commitment to better serve their needs and increase their readership.
We started this effort last year by devoting two cover stories to display and classified advertising systems. This year, we continue the trend by introducing two new departments: Business and Editorial. Business will focus on the technologies associated with the management of advertising, circulation and finance; Editorial will tackle the technologies involved in management and production in the newsroom.
You will also notice two other changes in our department line-up. Press and Materials, formerly separate, have been combined, and On Site has been renamed Health & Safety-a title that better describes the stories we place there.
We have also added another regular section, TechNews Visits. This new feature will allow you to tour some of the most cutting-edge newspaper facilities in the country. We begin in this issue with TechNews Visits The New York Times' College Point Facility.
One final change was prompted not by readers, but by advertisers-many have asked us to take classified ads. This month, we launch our new classified section, TechMart, to offer value and service to the entire newspaper community.
All of these changes are customer-driven. Thanks for sharing your ideas; our new features are a direct reaction to your input. We hope you enjoy them, and we wish you a happy, productive and profitable 1998.
Clark Robinson
Editor