Super Street Magazine: Is Print Dead?

Saturday, 30 January 2010 21:56 D-Rex Lifestyle

super street, super street magazine I was browsing through an old Super Street Magazine and realized that I haven't purchased a car magazine in months. We have known for awhile now that print is slowly going the way of the dinosaur due to the increase of online material and other factors.

Magazines have been steadily losing revenue to online formats for some time now. It really came to light when I realized that I have not purchase a print publication in months. Remember when Super Street magazine was almost as thick as the Yellow Pages? Okay, just a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean (does anyone remember what the Yellow Pages are?) Browsing through the pages of Super Street I noticed that three quarters of the magazine were advertisements. I will admit that I am guilty of purchasing Super Street to browse the latest products.

super street, super street magazine

Super Street Magazine

super street, super street magazine

Import Tuner Magazine

I noticed the change when I picked up a Super Street Magazine, it felt like it had lost weight! There were actually less ads and more articles. This may be due to the slowing economy or, perhaps, the increase of online forums and blogs. Or maybe they have simply lost touch with the grassroots import tuner community, I don't know. Turbo and Sport Compact Car magazine were victims of these changes and are no longer in business. Even though the Internet provides a wealth of information, I miss informative and technical articles, comparison tests and more. Somehow I find that many blogs and online magazines do not offer that same breadth of knowledge. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to insult anyone. I love to see car pictures but something is still missing. I guess I just love seeing dyno results from testing cams and exhaust systems. I also like seeing detailed installation instructions for the DIY. I found one blog that satisfies my need for this type of knowledge, MotoIQ. This blog was started by previous staff members of Sport Compact Car Magazine (hey Mike, what's up?). I met Mike Kojima at an Se-r convention in Alabama.

I don't know if print will ever die, but one thing I can say: to be competitive in this industry, magazines must keep up with the times. If you visit these sites, although technology has evolved, these sites have not. The online platform has opened endless opportunities for the entrepreneur which print must now compete against.

Which were the last car magazines you purchased or are you trending more to online information? Do you think that print is dead?

Comments (3)

1 Tuesday, 02 February 2010 08:40

Munny

I currently subscribe to Modified, Super Street, Import Tuner, Honda Tuning, Euro Tuner, Japanese Nostalgic Car, and Nissan Sport. Lol I'm alittle bit of a magazine junkie. I love these magazines, just don't have as much time to read them these days and I think alot of the pop culture gave up on our scene which im sure has made it hard for Primedia and other companies to retain these titles.

2 Friday, 05 February 2010 21:10

James Evins

The biggest reason for the changes you've noticed are terrible business mistakes by Source Interlink. Buying out the market is a terrible idea - competition is good for sales.

Notice that plenty of magazines that aren't owned by Source Interlink are thriving and gaining popularity and size (not only in subscriptions, but in the actual pages of the magazine)

Not that the other factors you mentioned aren't at play - they definitely are! But when Source and Primedia consolidated, that was a big blow to the industry in my opinion.

3 Saturday, 06 February 2010 19:14

skela

I feel print is slowly going the way of the Dodo... as technology advances and the younger generation become more comfotable with the elctronic medium it will be inevitable. All those magazines exist because of advertisers dollars. The "euro-tuner" mag has slowly become less and less about technical articles and more and more a venue for tires and rims... I've no need for new tires or rims, and hence have no need to buy the magazine. If the magazines could get back to technical articles of old skool rides and emerging technologies and products, then maybe I'll renew my subscription.

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