If I had a nickel for every time I heard “print is dead.”
I’m here this month to tell you: Print is not “dead.” Elements of print media are dying, though.
Newspapers, for one, are on life support. There are exceptions like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, but daily newspapers in the U.S. are razor thin compared to what they were 20 or 30 years ago.
Unfortunately, newspapers lost the ability to break news long ago, and most didn’t adapt with the advent of digital media. Additionally, newspapers historically struggled to connect advertisers with consumers.
Consumer magazines followed a similar path. How many of you remember looking forward to receiving a copy of Sports Illustrated (or your consumer magazine of choice) in the mail decades ago?
Sports Illustrated was Americana at one time. The content within couldn’t be found elsewhere, reaching sports enthusiasts each week with analysis and insights that fueled fans across the nation.
Sadly, Sports Illustrated is a shell of itself now. It’s no longer a weekly magazine, shifting to monthly distribution in 2020. It also got caught up in political correctness, which turned off a slew of readers.
Mastering content delivery
So, why is Pit & Quarry any different than newspapers and consumer magazines?
Well, Pit & Quarry is a trade magazine, and there’s power in the connection the trade media provides.
The Pit & Quarry audience is niche. Not every Tom, Dick and Harry receives Pit & Quarry. Only qualified readers receive the magazine, meaning those working in active aggregate operations or a related area.
Pit & Quarry’s content is curated specifically for this audience. Perhaps it’s stating the obvious, but when you flip through Pit & Quarry you read about topics that pertain to pits and quarries. Our magazine silos content into three pillars – technology, business and safety – with reader feedback guiding us to shape Pit & Quarry into these areas.
Still, not only is the content presented in Pit & Quarry each month focused on aggregates, but the advertisements within are geared toward those running industry businesses. Many trade magazine readers find value in the content and the ads. P&Q, after all, isn’t hitting you with promotions for body wash and sports drinks.
Independent research confirms print is still relevant, as well. A third-party firm engaging the Pit & Quarry audience each year consistently confirms that the majority of P&Q readers – 85 percent, in fact – want the magazine in its print form.
I always contend that Pit & Quarry is a print magazine first. That’s us at our core. But we’ve evolved over the last few decades into events, content marketing and digital media that includes podcasts, videos and e-newsletters as regular offerings.
Newspapers and consumer media got it wrong when they stopped evolving. Pit & Quarry’s evolution is ongoing.
