Margin Notes: Print is Alive!
Rumors of print's death have been greatly exaggerated.
I went on my first work trip last week! It was a magazine conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, and I had an amazing time. It’s been years—since college—that I’ve been in the room with that many people all interested in magazines and journalism. It was both refreshing and energizing.
My favorite takeaway from the conference is that print is very much alive. (We’re so back!) Gen Z is experiencing major digital fatigue, returning to print as a way to avoid social media and hop on the trend of going analog. Even more encouraging, research shared at the conference showed that more than 70% of Gen Z readers are more likely to trust print magazines as a source compared to other media.
More than anything, it’s just encouraging to hear that people still care about print media—and it’s actually something many people look forward to.
Working in magazines every day, it can be easy to focus on deadlines, photo captions and production schedules. Sitting in a room full of people who genuinely love the medium was a good reminder of why we do it in the first place.
Note to Self
Re-up your print subscrptions—and read, read, read!
On The Nightstand
I am currently reading Belle Burden’s Strangers, and so far I’m loving the pacing and how it flows effortlessly. I enjoyed Burden’s choice to start Part 1 more in the middle of the story, and there was definitely a shock factor right out of the gate. There’s a clear sense that something is building under the surface, and I’m curious to see where it goes next.
Field Notes
On today’s episode of being a journalist has given me a hyper amount of knowledge in uber-niche topics: I wrote about historic mills in the Midwest and the person behind them for 417 Magazine!
I started a new Substack page called Table Four! I’ll be posting there every Monday, discussing the biggest stories and news in pop culture.
Yes, I am watching Love Island USA this season. I wrote a bit about it in yesterday’s edition of Table Four, but to sum up my thoughts: I don’t know how they pick these people; we’ll never have another season like Leah and Rob’s; and justice for Sean.
Small Joys:
🥤 Traveling to new cities
🥤 Getting print magazines in the mail!
🥤 Dirty sodas
🥤 This specific Aritzia tank
🥤 Coffee shops with plants
I'm always so thrilled to hear about people advocating for the use of analog, physical, print, and whatever other non-digital mediums they can. How wonderful that you get to be a part of that!
You’re keeping it alive!