I want to scream at the top of my lungs

“I want to run through the halls of my high school
I want to scream at the top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
just a lie you've got to rise above”

Well I want to scream at the top of my lungs like John Mayer. I have a story to tell. Wanting to tell your story is like wanting to have sex, it keeps you on the edge of your seat: But once you have sex, you roll over and fall asleep.

I work with an Indian Lifestyle Magazine. I work with; I believe sincerely, a rather good magazine. I am proud of my job on most days. But, more importantly, I am extremely proud of the magazine I work for. I don’t agree with everything all my colleagues do on a day to day basis. In fact I don’t think everybody agrees on everything ever. A good content room bristles with tension and awkwardness. But by and large, on the average morning, I wake up confident that we’ve put out a magazine that we are all editorially and ethically satisfied with. (Even if I live many miles away from the marketing room: my assigned area.)

What incentive does a magazine have to bring out a genuinely world-class magazine? Will writing better stories bring it more readers?  Perhaps. But then why is the newspaper most lampooned for its journalism the largest selling English title by far?

Will writing better stories convince readers to pay more for the paper? Just suggest the idea of increasing cover price to any paper’s CEO. And see the blood drain out of his face. The fear is that readers will immediately drop the title for a cheaper one. Thereby leading to plummeting circulation. And fewer ads.

Perhaps, you say, advertisers will see the merit in supporting a high-quality publication? Let us take the case of the excellent Caravan magazine. I think most people will agree that they are a good magazine. Look at the ads they have on their homepage on the right side in the form of a little slideshow. National Jute Board. Orissa Tourism Board. And two kitchen appliances companies I have never heard off. These are the companies willing to pay to advertise on the website of a truly exceptional magazine.

Think about it.Step back a little. What does this mean for the newsroom?

Newsrooms are expensive. Good newsrooms are exorbitantly expensive. Yet, as I mentioned above, investing in it actually makes little economic sense. Because the only person willing to pay for it, i.e. the advertiser, actually has little interest in what comes out of it.

This also has implications for the editorial leadership. Who is a good editor? The one who edits and puts out great content? Or the now who knows how to keep circulation up and advertisers happy?

The point of saying all this is that if you want to improve your newspapers then tweeting the mistakes in it won’t help. Sending letters to your editor may help, but it possibly won’t. Jokes about them on your blog most certainly won’t help. Instead vote with your feet. Stop subscribing. That is not enough though. Then go and subscribe to another paper that is better. Want to pass on a real message? Go and subscribe to an international paper or magazine at higher prices. Convey the message that you are willing to put your money where your sensibilities.

Get back into the equation. Get back into the newsroom.

Everything else is hot air. 

If I could leave you with one parting thought it will be this: for the love of god and country please do not subscribe to a magazine that you do not like or respect.