Let’s talk about print media. For the last 20 years as the world transitioned to portable digital media consumption, the predictions of print’s demise have been a constant. I spent a career working in the print-magazine industry, and covering that same industry as a journalist. I also covered the transition to digital, and watched as my print magazine succumbed in the face of inexorable decline in its served market. So not only were we chronicling the great transition, we ultimately became a victim of the same trends.
But print is still with us. Many readers of this newsletter are professionally involved in producing print magazines, either selling advertising, creating content, or overseeing production. And very few of us have actually fully migrated. We still subscribe to print-plus-digital versions of our local newspapers, and our favorite magazines, be they Vogue, People, Better Homes and Gardens or The Atlantic.
Some brands have always had print at the center of their media offerings. Associations, city and regional magazines, low-frequency specialty magazines, SME media, to name a few.
But now, a variety of magazines are refocusing on print, and positioning it as something different: A luxury. One of the print stalwarts is Samir Husni, Mr. Magazine, the former professor at the University of Mississippi. He’s evangelized print for 40 years and has never back off an inch.
Samir Husni.
Samir, a friend, was featured in the February 2025 issue of Fox Tales, where he said, “It is time to shift to a circulation-driven model: High cover price and lower frequency. A circulation-driven model is a must nowadays.”
That, in a nutshell, is the future of print, and it dovetails with the shift to print as a premium product. You can charge more, because it’s viewed as almost a respite from the digital cacophony.
The Media Voices podcast quoted Samir earlier this month as saying that print never really went away. Instead, the message has been lost in the louder narrative about the long-term decline in newspaper circulation. “Print never left us,” Samir told Media Voices. “This talk about the revival of print—it’s nonsense. What people are discovering today is the new power of print.”
Media Voices continued to analyze the trend: “[Print] is for the super fans,” said Kat Craddock, the New York City-based editor who acquired the food title Saveur in 2023. “It’s the most expensive. It’s for people who know us or who happened upon us and are really excited about what we’re doing.”
So for those media pros still producing print media, know this: The storyline is shifting, and print is coming to be seen as cool again.