Magazine Innovation Center: Amplifying the Future of Print
March 3, 2009
As reported in Folio earlier today, my plans to create a center devoted to the study of magazines in particular and print in general is one step closer to reality. The Magazine Innovation Center will become a reality on August 15 of this year. I have decided to devote the remaining years of my professional career to study the medium which I cherish and trust that it still has a great future regardless of the doom and gloom that surrounds it in today’s marketplace. The Magazine Innovation Center will have one major goal in mind: Amplify the future and power of print and its place in the media realm of the 21st Century. MIC’s mission and structure is described in the following outline:
Mission
The Magazine Innovation Center (a not for profit organization) is an international collaboration between the best thinkers in publishing, printing, advertising and distribution. MIC seeks to generate focused innovation in magazines and other print media. As an industry, we employ the world’s great minds. The Center will channel their creativity and intellect (away from the grinds of everyday work and challenges) to provide blueprints for productive change.Goals
MIC will catalyze innovation in order to ensure a thriving future for magazines and the print industry. The Center plans to offer a wide spectrum of perspectives inside and outside of print media.Open Source Thinking
Each year groups of experts will be brought to the Center to participate in extensive and visionary programs. They will be afforded the time and resources needed to create practical guidelines and directions for the future success of print. Results will be distributed worldwide.Smart Money
MIC will seek a rapid-start fund of $1 million to address the most pressing issues. A fully funded endowment will be required to maintain MIC over the long-term and to finance continual interchange and development of productive strategies.Structure
The Center will be under the directorship of Samir A. Husni with a board of directors that will guide, navigate and oversee the work of MIC. These directors will include leaders in the fields of publishing, printing, advertising and distribution; they will be instrumental in helping to identify key issues that affect the growth and health of our industry.
Another group of advisors at MIC will be responsible for seeking out talents who have innovative ideas and spark. These forward-thinking individuals will comprise the proactive energy behind the collaborative efforts of the center.
The support for MIC, since I wrote the first mention about it, has been overwhelming. I welcome your support and I look forward to your involvement. Print is not dead and the MIC will be the candle that lights the way for our future in the midst of the darkness that surrounds us. For more info or to be included on MIC’s e mail list please drop me an e mail at samir.husni@gmail.com
Stay tuned for more information about MIC.
Mr. Magazine 
I would be happy to help you, Samir, in any way I can. See you next week in Augusta.
Trisha
[…] Own it, move on and start getting shit done. […]
All education centers especially innovation centers need perspective, alternative points of view and a great amount of creativity.
If the Center’s goal is to channel the creativity and intellect of our industry and to provide blueprints for productive change, I would like to be a part of that process.
I am available to help you and you new team of visionary thinkers tackle the problems of today so that there is a magazine industry tomorrow.
BoSacks
-30-
This is great news, Samir. I look forward to being involved in anyway I can.
Something to Seriously Ponder…
Submitted by Patrick Jonathon Sweeney…
I would love to contribute 35 years of magazine industry observation to your innovation initiative…
All of us in the print periodical industries need to establish a dialogue about the opportunity we’ve had at our fingertips since I recognized it in the mid nineties… and I’ve been a reader/subscriber to Folio since the mid 70’s… one that both publishers and printers have been oblivious or blinded to even though the assets have been and are readily available… a process I recognized a decade ago and am engineering that would… revolutionize newsstand magazine page content delivery paradigm/system/methodology; reduce the outright consumption (theft by some definition) of your edit product due to browser’s price sensitivity or cursory limited interest; increase single copy sampling, sell-thru and cash flow; reduce untold millions of unsold copies ending in landfills; increase reader receptiveness to advertisers who would receive a bonus exposure over and above their print placement; reduce tons of volatile emissions from print mfg plants; provide readers a customizable, individualized editorial selection and purchasing capability; give editors transactional feedback on what their “potential” reader/subscribers are willing to pay for and subscribe to… For the sake of the worlds forests that are disappearing at an alarming rate… squandered… for the readers who should be able to choose with specificity the individual editorial and advertising items they are attracted to, elect to read and purchase from the single copies of thousands of magazine titles on the newsstands rather than be required to buy entire issues glutted with untold millions of pages of edit and ads they don’t desire… TALK ABOUT TURNING THE MAG PRINT WORLD UPSIDE DOWN AND INSIDE OUT BY ESTABLISHING A GLOBAL, ECO-FRIENDLY, INDUSTRY-ALTERING TRANSFORMATION PROCESS OF A WONDEROUSLY SIMPLE IDEA AND METHOD THAT WOULD SAVE MILLIONS OF TONS OF PAPER AND TREES ANNUALLY… ELIMINATE THE SHREDDING OF UNTOLD MILLIONS OF UNSOLD MAGAZINES THAT POPULATE LANDFILLS… AND AT THE SAME TIME ACTUALLY INCREASE REVENUES TO PUBLISHERS AS COMPARED TO THE LOSES THEIR FACING CONTINUALLY NOW… GIVE THE READERS MORE OF EXACTLY WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO READ (AND PAY FOR) AS COMPARED TO WHAT EDITORS THINK THEY SHOULD OR DESIRE TO READ (AND PAY FOR)… AND IMPROVE THE JOB OF THE EDITORS BY PROVIDING THEM WITH TRANSACTIONAL FEEDBACK AS TO WHAT HEAVY PRINT MEDIA IMPERATIVES CHOOSE TO CONSUME, DIGEST & MOST IMPORTANTLY, PAY FOR… AND AT THE SAME TIME ALLOW THE WORLD’S LARGEST PERIODICAL PRINTERS TO COMPLY WITH A “GREENER” SOLUTION TO THE PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF MAGAZINE PAGE CONTENT… EVEN IF IT MEANS SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER TOTAL ANNUAL PAGE IMPRESSIONS PRODUCED… DID YOU KNOW THAT THE BIG 10 PRINTERS CONSUME AT THE LEAST… 35 RAIL CARS OF PAPER EVERY HOUR AND 5 RAIL TANKERS OF INK EVERY DAY… YIELDING PRODUCT OF WHICH 90% IS NOT RECYCLABLE AND DESTINED TO OUR LANDFILLS… TALK ABOUT A PHENOMENAL GOAL WE ALL COULD LEAD THE WAY AND PLAY AN EPIPHENAL ROLE IN… FOR THE COLLECTIVE BENEFIT OF THE EARTH, OUR READING PUBLIC, OUR AUTHORS & EDITORS, OUR ADVERTISERS & RESELLERS AND OUR “OWN” BOTTOM LINES… Feel free to contact me if you’re intrigued or moved by what should be the biggest movement in our industries… Patrick Jonathon Sweeney printelligent@gmail.com
I really hope that MIC is gonna help us all in our mission to keep magazines running. since I am 100% positive that we all here are passionate about magazines I think that something can be done and something is gonna be done.
For any help and insight in small markets such as Croatian please feel free to contact me.
Perhaps something positive can come about as a result of the catastrophic state our economy is in; the magazine model has been broken for decades and it’s long over due to fix it. I spent over 20 years in print, and complained about the devaluation of content from my youth in the business! I’m now an operating partner with a merchant bank and am trying to buy a media company (at a reasonable value) to get my hands around making changes. I applaud your efforts and welcome the opportunity to participate.
Well done, Samir. The media has led the world to believe that magazines are an endangered species and that content comes down to digital vs. trees. And we’ve trained consumers to devalue the worth of great content because we’ve been giving it away. The truth is that magazines will mutate and go digital in ways we have yet to see, but their essence–great storytelling; inspiring and compelling editorial, and surprises created by talented editors, writers, photographers and, increasingly, multimedia specialists who understand a specific audience–will thrive. Magazines aren’t dead; they’re in transition. Very pleased you’ve taken a leadership role to help us figure out what a magazine can and will be tomorrow. A lot of magazine brahmins have been more concerned with preserving the status quo. That’s akin to what the music industry did pre iTunes. It’s myopic. I can’t wait to help in any way I can. Keith
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I am sure we are all looking forward to watching MIC progress even further into the future. Keep up the great work and thank you for all you do. Thanks.
I’m following you from LinkedIn and I’m glad to see that there’s creative people thinking about Magazines… And I agree with Keith, I think magazines are in transition and that is our mission to find out the way they’re going to be in the future. I’ll be very pleased if you ever need my help from Argentina and Uruguay.
Hi all,
We’re just launching a business magazine based on the themes of innovation, collaboration and change. It’s online at the moment but we’re looking to go to print whenever possible. Any comments, suggestions, etc. are most welcome. And I’m happy to be involved in MIC as time allows. Good work and great idea about establishing MIC.
Regards to all,
David
Please make sure that you will send me a copy. My address is Samir Husni, P.O. Box 1062, Oxford, MS 38655
[…] Magazine Innovation Center: Amplifying the Future of Print Mr .Mar 3, 2009 The Magazine Innovation Center will become a reality on August 15 of this year. I have decided to […]
[…] 2009 I was excited to hear that Dr. Samir Husni (aka Mr. Magazine) had launched the Magazine Innovation Center at the Meek School of Journalism at the University of Mississippi […]