The six-month' anniversary of the newly establish Asia Weekly triggered off a few pieces - like here on Time's weblog - on the sustainability of this kind of operation. Asia Weekly, set up by the famous journalist Jasper Becker, now has a circulation of 20,000 and that certainly exceeds my expectations.
Asia Week had a circulation of 210,000 when it was closed in 2001 and the Far Eastern Economic Review 100,000 when it ended as a weekly. Retaining readers has been much easier than getting new ones in, but the Asia Weekly expects to have 50,000 in two years time. The magazine goes in more than one way against the current trend by for example having no substantial online presence.
I have been reading the magazine for a few months but decided not to subscribe. The news was at least one week old, I was mainly interested in their China-coverage and found that rather disappointing. It might have improved, but I cannot see it because they have no online presence. I did not see any of their articles being quoted by other media.
Now even the major newspapers like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have or will decide very soon to put all their content for free on the internet, not having a presence online seems a way to curtail the life cycle of the magazine. Beating the online flow on information is very hard and only by participating in the online conversation, media can make a difference. This era is about crumbling barriers. Putting yourself on a lonely island is a sure way into oblivion.
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