TIME to move on

We worked at Time Inc. for over a decade and we remember the moment well - when we first noticed women staring at their phones in the checkout aisle at the grocery store instead of flipping through PEOPLE. Patients in the doctor's office smiling at their phones instead of reading Sports Illustrated. Headphone-clad commuters, phone in their lap instead of this week's issue of TIME. Finally, here was a device that liberated a pent-up desire in consumers - to feel more emotionally engaged with their media. The time was ripe for the publishing business to embrace this new technology and welcome their audience into their stories - yet they passed.

How did this industry allow a brand extension opportunity full of potential to morph into an existential crisis? The players focused on their own emotions about their industry, products and yes, their own careers, when they could have focused on the emotional needs of their audience. Their response to this looming threat? "The power of print"..."People love the smell of newsprint"..."Sales will come back"

The recent departure of some of the magazine world's most august editors is the strongest sign yet: Time to move on.

From the New York Times: https://nyti.ms/2jU6qUq