WINOL SHOWREEL

*For Documentary Assessment.
Submitted 17/05/2014

INNOVATIVE JOURNALISM

*For Magazine Journalism Assessment.

Submitted 10/05/2014

Magazine Production And The Pivotal Role Of Social Media

I believe it was Gandhi who commended those to “live simply so that others may simply live.” When examined from this perspective, we can interpret social media as a rather existential form; constructed in mind of a complex mechanism which is necessary in maintaining the popularity of the print industry. In other words it’s a dependency, like Michael McFarlane pointed out in my interview; “you can never forget the print medium because everybody communicates in print… if you want lasting stories, lasting information; it has to be reinforced with print, so print will never die.” Consider the growing obsession of social media as a promotional tool for online publications or blogs, for example. How can we relate this to the more traditional form of print?

The introduction of the internet (not to be confused with the World Wide Web, created by Tim Berners-Lee in the late 1980’s) saw the vast interconnection of networks on a global scale, which has since been made readily available to the public through a range of different mediums, mainly computers, and more recently portable phones and tablets. The current figure of internet users around the world, according to RealTimeStatistics (09.05.2014), is a whopping *2,508,838,498 and increasing, with approximately six people linking in per second. This is said to constitute around *787,085,233 keyword searches via Google; reinforcing the importance of certain “tagged” words to promote the content of a publication. Contemporary networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter serve as aides in sharing and distributing content; with an aim to inform the public of current affairs. Each feature a ‘trending‘ section once signed in, with the additional option to tag or track certain posts to further expand an audience. But with such easy access online, would we be right in thinking such ‘specialised’ magazines are becoming a “dying art?”

Gareth Evans, Editor of Coach and Bus Week Magazine, comments; “social media is an invaluable tool to both source news and feature ideas and engage with readers… [it is] a key promotional tool to advertise the sale of additional copies on the newsstand or direct from our subscriptions team.” It has been argued that one feels comfort in placing an inanimate object. In relation to books for example, it is considered aesthetically pleasing from a voyeur’s perspective, with the object denoting an immediate fiction of the reader themselves. On the other hand, the substantial rise in technology (detailed above) paves the way for a new generation of readers. Prior experience with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) when actively editing an online only magazine, proved highly effective in increasing the daily pageviews of the publication; tracked via Slimstat. Twitter account's tailored to a title also proves successful in increasing the magazine’s current following, inviting a personalized “live tweet” format. Therefore, it can only be expected that more activity equals an invaluable increase in readership.

Interview With Editor/Professional Journalist.

*For Magazine Journalism Assessment.
Submitted 01/05/2014

Michael McFarlane is a former publisher/editor who has a vast amount of experience in the audio visual industry; having worked to produce a number of 'specialised' magazines in South Africa.