Does anybody still read magazines?

[tabs]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Art magazines, yes. And I still vastly prefer the feel of a paper book. I'm not remotely anti-technology, thats simply my preference.

I like art magazines like Hustler...i love the articles..so scintillating.

[450knotOffice]

Subscriptions? No. However, I still occasionally buy a magazine from B&N. Usually it's AIRWAYS magazine.

Otherwise, I have a couple of digital subscriptions to FLYING and TOTAL 911.

[wildthing]

I subscribe because I don't want to always be staring at a screen. I work in front of a computer most of my work day.

Also good to have something that doesn't run out of batteries, so I get to read when waiting for something or someone...

I have Men's Health, Excellence and Panorama, and someone gifted me Car and Driver.

Originally Posted by p911dad

I'm down to two, AOPA Pilot and the Hagerty magazine. I let the others all go. I was irritated when Autoweek went monthly or whatever it did.

Hagerty Magazine has turned out to be surprisingly good!

[livi]

Originally Posted by drkshdw

How do people poop without magazines?

Yup. I have my own poop bathroom in the basement. The stacks of car magazines collected since decades are piling up all along the walls. I pick one random mag and go about my business. Most articles are read for the tenth time at least but its a routine I can not poop without.

[wdfifteen]

As a magazine publisher it is heartening to read that some people here still like paper magazines. We saw a drop in interest about 8-10 years ago and it sent a scare through the industry. Publishers struggled to create a readable on-line "magazine" and most of them, including us, finally gave up. The paper magazine format just does not translate to digital consumption. Our on-line presence is a hodge-podge of blogs, and social media content that is designed to steer readers to our paper magazines. Our subscriptions are generally about 25% lower than they were in the halcyon days of the mid-2000s, but the paper magazine industry is sustainable.
Before I retired I used to get 20 or 30 magazines a month, all comps from other publishers. I could only read a few.
Weekly magazines, which are mainly conveyors of news, have really been hit hard. With cable TV and the internet any news they contain is stale by the time a paper magazine is produced and delivered. I used to look forward to Time, Newsweek, and the Cleveland Browns magazines showing up every Tuesday. I miss having something like that to look forward to. It helped define the week, and I don't think instant access to what is happening in the world is such a good thing. I think my general level of anxiety is higher because of it, but I can't stop. I just don't see myself watching the news on TV once a week.

[jcommin]

I have a subscription of "Pastel Journal" for years. I save them too.

[berettafan]

currently have subscriptions to:
Shooting Sportsman (good photography and some great short stories)
Bicycling (might let this one go but it helps with motivation)
Journal of Accountancy
Baseball America (gift to my 14yo)
couple others I can't think of at the moment

[flatbutt]

I gave up Playboy when they changed format. I still read Sky and Telescope.

[slow&rusty]

I have over 1,000 magazines from the 1970s onwards, I even have the first journalism year when Jeremy Clarkson wrote for Performance Car. I converted one of my bedrooms to an office to show them off. I can't imagine how much I've spent over the years on magazines but back in the day it was part of being an auto enthusiast long and I'm having a tough time letting go of all that paper and just dumping them at the local Goodwill or even dumpster (like so many have).

I also have lots of cool old brochures when I went to Motor shows in England, Toronto and the US from the 1970s onwards . There is some attachment to all this stuff, when you're a 12 year old kid and you see a Lamborghini Countach grace the cover of CAR magazine, it is a image that stays with you forever.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I've tried digital magazines and dislike them, I don't think the format transfers well to a tablet. My only subscription is to Panorama but with my frequent flying I'm always up to date on car magazines. My go-to magazines from the airport store are Car&Driver, Road&Track, and Automobile. I'll also go for the more obscure or British mags like Octane, Evo, Car, Sports&Classics, etc when available.

[aschen]

still subscribed to GRM (grassroots motorsports)


used to be subscribed to 3-5 magazines at any given time. It was such a treat to open the mailbox to a good rag.

[PorscheGAL]

I've tried reading digital mags and just can't. I have food and travel mag subs.

As to the question of lifestyle magazines: Interestingly fashion mags used to have a huge Sept issue to coincide with NY Fashion week. They would sell huge ads and the issue would have 600+ pages. This year there are no special Sept issues. They say instagram fashion bloggers have taken all the advertising money. It is cheaper for a designer to send a free outfit to a big blogger than advertise in a magazine.

I think a lot of magazines that have been around decades will suffer a similar fate. It will be interesting to see how or if there is an adjustment to their business model.

[Dantilla]

I enjoy the magazines that come with membership to AOPA and EAA. Other subscriptions have expired.
FLYING magazine just sent me an offer for $10/year if I re-subscribe. Like AUTOMOBILE, they lost some of my favorite writers. Maybe....

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I gave up Playboy when they changed format. I still read Sky and Telescope.

I read yesterday (on the internet) that PB is going to publish quarterly starting next year.

[herr_oberst]

I like magazines, and I still get a few delivered, but the automatic subscription model makes me angry. Inevitably, they charge your card months before the sub expires, without asking if it's something you want to continue.

Now get off my lawn, I have to go inside and button up my cardigan..

[Deschodt]

I switched over to Ipad editions, but on an Ipad Pro (the large one) ... Makes brit/french mags cheaper to get and store and the size is about perfect.

I've stopped many subs after my last move when I had to carry those thingsand realize the space and weight involved... Now I keep only 000 (because it's jewelry and quarterly) and Excellence (because I have them since #1 - but I suspect I'll divest of that too). Everything else, and I read one a day between car/science/F1 stuff, is digital. I really got used to that on the large Ipad.

[carreradpt]

My subscriptions are dwindling as well. Can't take a crap without something to read in front of me. I am down to Excellence, GRM, Panorama, a couple of golf mags, USAF organization mags, and Smithsonian which will expire soon. I don't write many checks but when I do it is for mags so they can't do the surprise billing thing.

And it disgusts me to pick up any mags in any waiting room. Ewww!

My wife doesn't read any of them and appreciates when I throw a pile out occasionally.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by p911dad

I'm down to two, AOPA Pilot and the Hagerty magazine. I let the others all go. I was irritated when Autoweek went monthly or whatever it did.

Bi-weekly and it's still good. I trade mags with others. I get C&D and R&T and trade them to someone (actually give) and hope to get what they read automotive wise.

I also take my own mags to the doctor and leave them for others.

[Tobra]

Yes, every day in my waiting room