The rise of digital media has been a double-edged sword for independent print media companies, Yankee Publishing President and CEO Jamie Trowbridge told the crowd during the latest Amos Fortune Forum on Friday.
Started in 1935 by Trowbridge’s grandfather, Yankee Publishing has seen its ups and downs and struggled in difficult markets, Trowbridge said.
“The Great Depression did not provide a great environment for a burgeoning magazine,” Trowbridge said.
And World War II, with paper rationing and the tightening of household budgets was nearly the end of the magazine altogether – it switched to a smaller print size, and didn’t print at all in 1943 or 1944. But the post-war boom brought back prosperity to the magazine, and for the next several decades, it was able to grow.
In 1980, the magazine took out a loan to be able to buy other magazine publishers – it didn’t turn out to be a good investment, Trowbridge said, as many of the magazines failed and Yankee found itself in debt that took years to dig out of.
Lesson learned, Trowbridge said.
“It has always worked better to spend within our means,” he said.
But that doesn’t mean no expansion at all, particularly in today’s media age, he said. Yankee has in recent years purchased other publications, and branched outside of its print media with events, blogs, podcasts and social media platforms.
“The Internet cuts both ways,” Trowbridge said. On one hand, he said, it gives big companies a wider access to readership than ever before. But it also puts those same tools in the hands of the small publishers, if they’re willing to use them. When people Google when the next full moon or eclipse is, the first hit will take them to the website for the Farmer’s Almanac – a Yankee publication.
There’s a perception that magazines are falling out of favor, Trowbridge said, but magazines, particularly those that delve into niche topics, still have a place in the media landscape. He’s been asked about what he’ll do to replenish the pool of Yankee readers – which he said tend to skew toward an older demographic. But he’s not so worried about that, he said. The Yankee website draws a readership that’s about 10 years younger than the print version, and their social media sites draw an audience younger still. With a cadre of loyal readers and a solid base of advertisers, coupled with a small business model with no shareholders to please – plus with New England’s population “making more old people than ever before” he joked – Yankee magazine will continue to have a place.
Next week’s Amos Fortune speaker will be Paul Jenkins on “Why the Beatles Mattered and Still Matter.” He will speak Aug. 2 at 8 p.m. at the Jaffrey Meetinghouse. For a full schedule of speakers, or to learn more about the Amos Fortune series, visit amosfortune.com.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.