It should come as no surprise to you that considering the state of affairs the United States and the rest of world is experiencing, that we made the right decision to postpone the ACT 10 Experience to Oct. 5 to 7, 2020.
We will be sending you more information soon, but are hoping that you will all stay safe and well and we are looking forward to seeing you in October.We are forwarding all the reservations and registrations to the new dates and I will be reaching out to all the speakers and sponsors with more details as we move forward.Again, thank you for understanding, stay well, stay safe,and all the best,Samir and the Magazine Innovation Center’s Team
Archive for the ‘ACT 10 Experience’ Category

ACT 10 Experience Postponed Until October 5 – 7, 2020…
March 17, 2020
Change Is The Only Constant… Get Ready to ACT (Amplify, Clarify, & Testify)… April 21 to 23, 2020
March 6, 2020The Magazine Innovation Center’s ACT 10 Experience Connects Future Industry Leaders To Current Industry Leaders…
It’s all about the Experience. From CEOs to editors; publishers to marketers; printers to digital and social media professionals, the ACT 10 Experience will welcome industry leaders to Oxford, Miss. and to the University of Mississippi, School of Journalism and New Media’s Magazine Innovation Center (MIC) on April 21 through April 23, 2020.
Where else but the ACT (Amplify, Clarify, and Testify) Experience can a student of magazines or marketing sit down with the head of a corporation and brainstorm together? It’s truly like no other professional conference.
This year the ACT 10 Experience will focus on the following six topics under its 10th anniversary theme:
Change Is The Only Constant
- Transformation of magazines from pure ink on paper entities to multi- magazine media platforms: print, digital, video, audio, events, and social media
- The future of social and marketing roles of magazines and magazine media
- The future of paper and printing industries
- The future of circulation and distribution
- The future of advertising and marketing
- The future of magazine launches
The leaders attending are a phenomenal mix (Click here for agenda) of CEOs, publishers, editors, marketers, printers, paper and digital professionals. There are 55 confirmed speakers from around the globe presenting an array of information and ideas that showcase solutions to the challenges the industry faces today. And with the theme: Change Is The Only Constant, the conversations should be lively and provocative ones.
Over the years, the ACT Experiences have had an amazing track record when it comes to the end results after each and every Experience. Contacts have been made for students, jobs and internships procured and industry professionals have admittedly gained new insights and information about what is being done at the Magazine Innovation Center at the School of Journalism and New Media on the campus of the University of Mississippi with the ACT Experiences.
Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni, the Magazine Innovation Center’s founder and director, is calling in all the national and international magazine giants available to the summit. This call to arms will address the topical theme: Change Is The Only Constant, in typical magazine fashion: head-on and straight up, the only way to face any elephant in the room.
Bonnie Kintzer, president & CEO, Trusted Media Brands will be there to answer Mr. Magazine’s™ call; Andy Clurman, president & CEO, Active Interest Media will also be in full outdoor battle gear, ready to take on any challenge; Vicci Rose, executive vice president & CRO, Us Weekly, will fly in from the East Coast with all the celebrity power she can bring with her; Daren Mazzucca, senior vice president & group publisher, Meredith Corp. will also come from the East, Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple each sending a big thumbs-up along with him. And speaking of the power of the thumbs (digital), Joe Hyrkin, CEO of issuu, and Karolyn Hart, founder & CEO, InspireHub will also be on hand to share those integrated digits of importance as both print and digital continue to work together to rein in this monumental challenge called “change.”
Also from across the pond, Simon Leslie, CEO & cofounder, Ink, will be hopping over from the U.K. Sanne Groot Koerkamp from The Netherlands will also be there and Sue Holt, director, ITP Consumer, United Arab Emirates was thrilled to be on Mr. Magazine’s™ team, as he was thrilled to have her there.
Then, fellow southerners from Garden & Gun Magazine, Rebecca Wesson Darwin, president & CEO and David Di Benedetto, senior vice president & editor in chief, will be onsite as well, so it may get a bit rowdy! Us Southerners know how to throw a party, whether we’re born down south or transplanted here.
Dan Heffernan, vice president & chief product manager, Advantage CS, will be onboard for the summit and Krifka Steffey, director, Merchandise & Newsstand, Barnes & Noble, definitely wanted to be there, plus the usual suspects, Bo Sacks, president, Precision Media, Tony Silber, president, Long Hill Media, & James G. Elliott, president, James G. Elliott Co. Without the latter three nimble magazine and magazine media cohorts, the ACT Experiences would never go off as smoothly as they do, and that’s also thanks to our official ACT scribe, Linda Ruth, PSCS Consulting.
And of course, those upstart entrepreneurs wouldn’t dare miss a Mr. Magazine™ call: Tyler Nacho, publisher and editor in chief, Kill Pretty Magazine, Andréa Butler, editor in chief, Sesi Magazine, and Doni Ambrosine, editor in chief, Culturs Magazine, Chris Walsh, founder & editor in chief, Fifty Grande Magazine, and John Thames, CEO/publisher, Covey Rise and Bourbon+ Magazines.
“The ACT Experience was created 10 years ago as a think and do forum where our students, the future industry leaders, could connect and interact with the currents industry leaders,” said Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni, founder and director, Magazine Innovation Center. “In addition, the Experience showcases what I like to refer to as our 3 M’s: Magazines, Music & Mississippi.”
Space is limited and the registration fee has been underwritten by Quad, our Leadership sponsor. So, ACT today and get registered! Click here to join us!
See You at ACT 10!
April 21 – 23, 2020

A Magazine And Magazine Media Extravaganza: 46 CEOs, Presidents, Publishers, And Editors Converge On Oxford, Mississippi For 2 ½ Days Of Everything Magazines & Magazine Media: The ACT 10 Experience. Register Today. Space Is Limited. Registration Fee Underwritten By Quad.
February 19, 2020Register today… Registration fee underwritten by Quad. Space limited to 100 attendees.
The movers & shakers of the magazine and magazine media world, which includes 46 experts that are either CEOs, publishers, editors, printing authorities, digital professionals, distribution and marketing virtuoso’s and many others are descending upon Oxford, Miss. at the Magazine Innovation Center’s ACT 10 Experience between April 21-23, 2020 and it’s going to be explosive!
Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni, the Magazine Innovation Center’s founder and director, is calling in all the national and international magazine giants available to a summit in Oxford. Miss. This call to arms will address the topical theme: Change Is The Only Constant, in typical magazine fashion: head-on and straight up, the only way to face any elephant in the room.
Bonnie Kintzer, president & CEO, Trusted Media Brands will be there to answer Mr. Magazine’s™ call; Andy Clurman, president & CEO, Active Interest Media will also be in full outdoor battle gear, ready to take on any challenge; Vicci Rose, executive vice president & CRO, Us Weekly, will fly in from the East Coast with all the celebrity power she can bring with her; Daren Mazzucca, senior vice president & group publisher, Meredith Corp. will also come from the East, Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple each sending a big thumbs-up along with him. And speaking of the power of the thumbs (digital), Joe Hyrkin, CEO of issuu, and Karolyn Hart, founder & CEO, InspireHub., Canada, will also be on hand to share those integrated digits of importance as both print and digital continue to work together to rein in this monumental challenge called “change.”
Also from across the pond, Simon Leslie, CEO & cofounder, Ink, will be hopping over from the U.K. Rumor is, he may bring Excalibur! Sanne Groot Koerkamp from The Netherlands will also be there and Sue Holt, director, ITP Consumer, United Arab Emirates was thrilled to be on Mr. Magazine’s™ team, as he was as thrilled to have her there.
Then, fellow southerners from Garden & Gun Magazine, Rebecca Wesson Darwin, president & CEO and David Di Benedetto, senior vice president & editor in chief, will be onsite as well, so it may get a bit rowdy! Us Southerners know how to throw a party, whether we’re born down south or transplanted there.
Dan Heffernan, vice president & chief product manager, Advantage CS, will be onboard for the summit and Krifka Steffey, director, Merchandise & Newsstand, Barnes & Noble, definitely wanted to be there, plus the usual suspects, Bo Sacks, president, Precision Media, Tony Silber, president, Long Hill Media, & James G. Elliott, president, James G. Elliott Co. Without the latter three nimble magazine and magazine media cohorts, the ACT Experiences would never go off as smoothly as they do, and that’s also thanks to our official ACT scribe, Linda Ruth, PSCS Consulting.
And of course, those upstart entrepreneurs wouldn’t dare miss a Mr. Magazine™ call: Tyler Nacho, publisher and editor in chief, Kill Pretty Magazine, Andréa Butler, editor in chief, Sesi Magazine, and Doni Ambrosine, editor in chief, Culturs Magazine, Chris Walsh, founder & editor in chief, Fifty Grande Magazine, and John Thames, CEO/publisher, Covey Rise and Bourbon+ Magazines.
Plus, we will have six panels of epiphanies that you won’t want to miss, which explores the mainframe topic of:
Transformation of magazines from pure ink on paper entities to multi-magazine media platforms!
It’s going to be amazing! So, don’t wait, space is limited and registration, thanks to our Leadership Sponsor, Quad, the registration fee is underwritten by Quad. But you must register to attend. Click here to register.
Click here to see the entire list of ACT 10 Experience speakers.
See you at The ACT 10 Experience – April 21-23, 2020!!

The ACT 10 Experience Welcomes IMAG. Complimentary Registration Courtesy Of Quad. Space Is Limited, So ACT NOW.
February 10, 2020The Magazine Innovation Center is pleased to announce Quad as a Leadership sponsor of this year’s ACT 10 Experience. We also welcome the MPA: The Association of Magazine Media’s IMAG to Oxford, Miss. and to the School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi, where the two events will come together to celebrate all things magazine and magazine media. The Quad partnership will underwrite the cost of attendee registrations, making this year’s conference free to attend. We thank them, and our Diamond (Advantage CS, Democrat Printing & Lithography, Hearst Magazines, Meredith Corporation), Platinum (issuu), Gold (Active Interest Media, Bonnier USA, LSC Communications), and Silver (Advantage Circulation Specialist, Bauer Media USA, Delta Magazine) sponsors for their continued support of our industry and their investment in the future industry leaders, our students.
The theme for the ACT 10 Experience is: Change is the Only Constant. And today, with magazines and magazine media, never has that statement been truer. ACT 10 Experience will explore all of the ins and outs, possibilities and impossibilities that await everyone who is a part of this amazing industry or who simply love it from a different perspective, perhaps.
Thanks to our partners and sponsors, The ACT 10 Experience will bring together under one roof, magazine and magazine media notables from around the world. From CEOs to publishers, editors in chief, to printers and paper companies, digital to social, rest assured, this is no ordinary conference. And scattered among these elite and renowned people are the students who we perpetuate with this experience, giving them each and every one an opportunity to get to know the best of the best in the industry, from journalism to marketing. ACT 10 Experience provides something no other conference has: the ability for a student with fresh ideas and innovative creativity to sit down and have a conversation with the CEO of a major magazine or magazine media company.
Quad will also sponsor the gala event for the IMAG Recognition Award – IMAG will recognize an individual for their expertise and service to the magazine media industry, and also the Mr. Magazine™ Launch of the Year for 2019 and the Student-Created Magazine Launch as well.
We are thankful to all of our sponsors (see list below) for their continued and very appreciated support of our efforts here at the Magazine Innovation Center on the campus of the University of Mississippi, where our focus is always on the future industry leaders.
For a list of confirmed speakers, please click here
And once again, millions of thanks to our ACT 10 Experience sponsors:
Leadership Sponsor
Quad
Diamond Sponsors
Advantage CS
Democrat Printing & Lithography
Hearst Magazines
Meredith Corporation
Platinum Sponsors
issuu
Gold Sponsors
Active Interest Media
Bonnier USA
LSC Communications
Silver Sponsors
Advantage Circulation Consulting
Bauer Media USA
Delta Magazine
To visit the sponsor page for your own opportunity to support our future industry leaders, please click here
And click here to register for this phenomenal event today! There is a limit of 100 registrants on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“Change Is The Only Constant…” Confirmed List Of Speakers Covering The Theme For The ACT 10 Experience…
February 4, 2020Look who is coming to the Magazine Innovation Center’s ACT 10 Experience at The University of Mississippi’s School of Journalism and New Media April 21 to 23. The list of the confirmed speakers so far listed alphabetically:
Donnyale Ambrosine – Editor in Chief, Culturs magazine
Joe Berger – Publishers Marketing and Sales Consultant, Joe Berger Associates
Doug Bitto – Principal, Advantage Circulation Consulting
Bruce Brandfon – Chief Media Officer, Duration Media, LLC.
Nicole Bowman – Principal, Bowman Circulation Marketing
Andréa Butler – Founder and Editor in Chief, Sesi Magazine
Andy Clurman – President & CEO, Active Interest Media
Deborah Corn – Intergalactic Ambassador to the Printerverse
Brittany Duhon – Business Travel Sales Manager, The Adolphus
James G. Elliott – President, James G. Elliott Co.
Allen Filson -Director, Professional Services, Canon Solutions America, Inc.
John French – Cofounder, French LLC
Karolyn Hart – Founder and CEO, Inspirehub Inc., Canada
Dan Heffernan – Vice President & Chief Product Manager, Advantage CS
Mona Hidayet – Executive Director, Clients and Products, Advantage CS
Sue Holt – Managing Director, ITP Consumer, United Arab Emirates
Joe Hyrkin – CEO, issuu
Jeff Joseph – Publisher & Editorial Director, Luckbox Magazine
Bonnie Kintzer – President & CEO, Trusted Media Brands
Sanne Groot Koerkamp – Editor in Chief, Quest magazine, The Netherlands
Michael Kusek – Publisher, Different Leaf Magazine
Simon Leslie – CEO & Cofounder, Ink, The United Kingdom
Matthew Lulay — Senior Director, Mather Consulting
Jerry Lynch – President, Magazine and Book Retail Association
Chris Lyons – President, Brand United
Daren Mazzucca – SVP, Group Publisher, Martha Stewart Living Magazine, Real Simple Magazine, Meredith Corp.
John Mennell – Founder, Magazine Literacy
Tyler Nacho – Publisher and Editor in Chief, Kill Pretty magazine
Jo Packham – Creator & Editor in Chief, Where Women Create, Where Women Cook, What Women Create
Victoria Rose – EVP, CRO, Us Weekly, American Media, LLC
Lori Rosen – Founder & President, Rosen Group
Linda Ruth – Publishing Management And Consulting, PSCS Consulting and Official Act Experience Scribe
Bo Sacks – President, Precision Media
Brigitte Schmidt Gwyn – President & CEO, MPA: The Association of Magazine Media
Tony Silber – President, Long Hill Media
Krifka Steffey – Director, Merchandise, Newsstand, Barnes & Noble
John Thames – CEO/Publisher, Covey Rise Magazine & Bourbon +Magazine
Chris Walsh – Founder & Editor In Chief, Fifty Grande Magazine
And here are some more info regarding The Magazine Innovation Center at The University of Mississippi’s School of Journalism and New Media announces the theme for its 10th anniversary ACT (Amplify, Clarify, and Testify) Experience: Change Is The Only Constant. The ACT 10 Experience is also proud to announce that it is welcoming the MPA: The Association of Magazine Media’s IMAG 2020 conference to the magazine media experience in Oxford, Mississippi. The dates for the event are set for April 21 to 23, 2020.
The Magazine Innovation Center was founded in 2009. The Center is the birthplace of the annual ACT Experience, which in 2020, will be in its 10th year. Each year MIC strives to provide industry leaders and aspiring media members a Think-and-Do Experience, brimming with ideas, inspiration and a little fun along the way. It’s also a time when students (future industry leaders) can meet and network with current industry leaders and professionals in the media community to further their own portfolios and knowledge. The magazine students are paired with industry leaders to shadow and learn from their expertise and experience. It’s a three-day world filled with possibilities for everyone; from potential careers for students to new friendships and business conversations between leaders.
The topics covered in this year’s ACT Experience are:
- Transformation of magazines from pure ink on paper entities to multi- magazine media platforms: print, digital, video, audio, events, and social media.
- The future of social and marketing roles of magazines and magazine media
- The future of paper and printing industries
- The future of circulation and distribution
- The future of advertising and marketing
- The future of magazine launches
Click here to check the list of the confirmed speakers so far and click here to register for the ACT 10 Experience.
Space is limited so don’t delay…. register today.

Change Is The Only Constant: Announcing The Magazine Innovation Center’s ACT 10 Experience…
January 29, 2020The Magazine Innovation Center at The University of Mississippi’s School of Journalism and New Media announces the theme for its 10th anniversary ACT (Amplify, Clarify, and Testify) Experience: Change Is The Only Constant. The ACT 10 Experience is also proud to announce that it is welcoming the MPA: The Association of Magazine Media’s IMAG 2020 conference to the magazine media experience in Oxford, Mississippi. The dates for the event are set for April 21 to 23, 2020.
The Magazine Innovation Center was founded in 2009. The Center is the birthplace of the annual ACT Experience, which in 2020, will be in its 10th year. Each year MIC strives to provide industry leaders and aspiring media members a Think-and-Do Experience, brimming with ideas, inspiration and a little fun along the way. It’s also a time when students (future industry leaders) can meet and network with current industry leaders and professionals in the media community to further their own portfolios and knowledge. The magazine students are paired with industry leaders to shadow and learn from their expertise and experience. It’s a three-day world filled with possibilities for everyone; from potential careers for students to new friendships and business conversations between leaders.
The topics covered in this year’s ACT Experience are:
- Transformation of magazines from pure ink on paper entities to multi- magazine media platforms: print, digital, video, audio, events, and social media.
- The future of social and marketing roles of magazines and magazine media
- The future of paper and printing industries
- The future of circulation and distribution
- The future of advertising and marketing
- The future of magazine launches
Click here to check the list of the confirmed speakers so far and click here to register for the ACT 10 Experience.
Space is limited so don’t delay…. register today.

ACT 10 Experience Welcomes MPA’s IMAG 2020… Change Is The Only Constant… Save The Date: April 21 to 23, 2020
December 9, 2019The Magazine Innovation Center at The University of Mississippi’s School of Journalism and New Media announces the theme for its 10th anniversary ACT (Amplify, Clarify, and Testify) Experience: Change Is The Only Constant. The ACT 10 Experience is also proud to announce that it is welcoming the MPA: The Association of Magazine Media’s IMAG 2020 community to the magazine media experience in Oxford, Mississippi. The dates for the event are set for April 21 to 23, 2020.
The Magazine Innovation Center was founded in 2009. The Center is the birthplace of the annual ACT Experience, which in 2020, will be in its 10th year. Each year MIC strives to provide industry leaders and aspiring media members a Think-and-Do Experience, brimming with ideas, inspiration and a little fun along the way. It’s also a time when students can meet and network with industry leaders and professionals in the media community to further their own portfolios and knowledge. The magazine students are paired with industry leaders to shadow and learn from their expertise and experience. It’s a three-day world filled with possibilities for everyone; from potential careers for students to new friendships and business conversations between leaders.
Nowhere else can future industry leaders (the students) exchange ideas and inspiration with current industry leaders (CEOs, presidents, publishers, editors and other magazine and magazine media professionals); it is truly a one-of-a-kind experience.
The ACT Experience brings together leaders in the magazine industry including MPA’s IMAG community to share best practices, resources and learning unique to enthusiast brands. Peer-to-peer networking, coupled with intelligence on issues central to enthusiast brands and the wider industry, make this gathering a “must attend” for indie leaders and their vendor partners.
In 2020, the ACT Experience will continue the discussions of the important issues facing the magazine and magazine media industry in this ever-changing world of media and technology. And of course, the value and benefit it will provide to anyone else interested in publishing and content will be incomparable.
The ACT 10 Experience will focus on the following six topics under its 10th anniversary theme:
Change Is The Only Constant
- Transformation of magazines from pure ink on paper entities to multi- magazine media platforms: print, digital, video, audio, events, and social media.
- The future of social and marketing roles of magazines and magazine media
- The future of paper and printing industries
- The future of circulation and distribution
- The future of advertising and marketing
- The future of magazine launches
We will cover each of these important topics: distribution and circulation, advertising and marketing, creation and curation, transforming beyond print into digital, video, audio, and events, and last but not least, new magazine launch stories, along with other issues and information.
In addition to that, we’ll celebrate two awards during the conference: the IMAG award for excellence in Independent Magazine Media for 2019, and also the Magazine Innovation Center’s Launch of the Year for 2019.
Stay tuned for more details…
To reserve a place at the ACT 10 Experience register here
and feel free to email me with any questions at samir.husni@gmail.com
Looking forward to seeing you in April 2020.