In this month’s Publishing Executive, Samir “Mr. Magazine” Husni offers his take on the “print is dead” predictions of doom that are spreading throughout the magazine industry.

Husni doesn’t blame the Internet, or TV, or lack of literacy for the state the magazine publishing industry finds itself in, but rather the business model.

In America, we followed a system that depended on circulation revenues until World War II. After we won that war, we gained a sense of entitlement. We became the world’s leaders, and our industries exploded and were looking for outlets to promote their products. A new publishing model was created. Advertisers picked up the bill for the magazine, and readers-turned-into-numbers paid very little for the content (not even the price of its printing).

According to Husni, publishers need to go back to a business model that relies primarily on circulation revenues in order to survive, and points to Consumer Reports, Highlights for Children, and Cook’s Illustrated as magazines without advertising that survive and thrive with circulation numbers over 1 million.

Will readers have to learn to pay more for their content. Yeah. Most likely.

But magazines still offer a huge benefit to advertisers. Maybe not the massive general interest magazines, but the independent magazine publishers who are giving voice to their passions and connect with their readers will still be able to draw the advertisers they need.

As long as people stop yelling about print being dead.

A final nugget of wisdom from Mr. Magazine:

So when you hear that we live in interesting times, be aware that although we may not know what the future may hold, we should take solace that we are not the first generation—nor the last—to live in interesting times. It is not the times that matter; it is what you do with that time.

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