What's the point in magazine industry associations?

Hearst UK's CEO says it's about fighting together for the things we all hold dear

Feb 06, 2025

Hello magazine makers,

Last week, I mentioned that I had been speaking to Hearst UK CEO Katie Vanneck Smith. The full interview is available now on the Media Voices website, or you can read some of my takeaways here.

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As well as running Hearst in the UK, Katie has just taken on the role of Chair at the UK’s magazine industry association, the PPA, and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to ask her:

“What is actually the point in these industry associations anymore?”

I actually have form for asking this question.

More than 10 years ago, when the PPA turned 100, I wrote a piece for MediaTel (now the Media Leader) wishing the PPA happy 100th, but asking ‘Now What?’.

I’m not asking this question from any antipathy towards the PPA or any other magazine association.

I love them.

I wish them nothing but success.

I support them whenever I can and I’m grateful for all the support they have given me.

However, in a world where budgets are super tight and publishers are looking for value from every penny they spend, I sometimes wonder where the associations sit in the magazine industry’s fight to survive and thrive.

Back in 2013, I wrote: “To survive another 100 years, the PPA has to help the industry solve the nitty gritty of what magazines should be and do, and what the business models might look like.”

Talking to Katie in January, she told me this is the first time she’s taken up a role like this, having previously been focused on ‘fighting for the survival’ of the business that she’s been working in.

So what’s changed?

Katie said:

There are times in our careers, where sometimes the collective moment might be more important than the individual. Many of the things that are facing us are quite existential, whether that is the future of retail or whether that is how we protect our copyright laws in the face of the LLMs (Large Language Models).

And she praised PPA CEO Saj Murali for giving the PPA teeth again:

“She's done a great job of building out steering committees and providing a purpose to a membership organization that's there for us as an industry.”

Working with adjacent associations - the News Media Association and the Publishers Association for books - Katie says:

We basically collectively slept walked into some quite bad ways of working. I feel that this time we're slightly better equipped and we have a moment to, hopefully, fight for the things that we all hold dear.

Industry associations can’t make readers or advertisers buy what magazine makers are selling. They can help us tell a better story, share that story and point us at the tools we need to make sure it has a happy ending.

Our associatons can be an incredible force for good. Consider:

The PPA’s Saj Merali representing the industry’s concerns over AI to the UK government.
The advertising effectiveness research conducted for the magazine sector by Magnetic
FIPP’s commitment to delivering ongoing professional development

On the other hand, if your industry association is all about boozy lunches and back slapping, it’s probably time for a bit of a rethink. You should be telling them to figure out the nitty gritty and join the fight.

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Do you offer your advertisers video promotions?

I know that, despite having the perfect face for radio, I’m going to have to get into video.

We experimented with a video podcast on Media Voices last month and, while I don’t love looking at myself, it’s been fairly well received.

I’m now wondering - as part of a tiny publishing team - how we can do video right and make some money from it. My starting point was to talk veteran videographer Simon Elliot, who’s opening gambit when talking to any magazine publisher is ‘Have you got video on your rate card?’

So, do you?

Schrödinger’s inbox

A few years ago my eldest did his master’s disseration on the relationship between digital audiences and YouTubers. He was fascinated by the idea of talking directly to the audience while having no idea if anyone is watching.

One of his lecturers said, “I love this. It’s like Schrödinger’s cat for performance.” He accepted the compliment, then messaged me: “Who the f*ck’s Schrödinger and what’s his cat got to do with anything?”

If you’ve never heard about Schrödinger and his cat, New Scientist explains everything nicely here.

Comments and email replies open the box for newsletter creators and earlier this week I got an email from friend of The Magazine Diaries Joe Berger. I love that Joe took the time to let me know he’d read the latest newsletter and share his insights.

Proof of life. The cat’s alive.

I emailed Joe back because I know him well, but how should you engage with your wider newsletter community, especially if you get a lot of correspondence?

Writing on newsletter advice site Inbox Collective, Alison Bowen says:

"Engaging with readers can be one of the most rewarding, but also one of the most exhausting, parts of creating a newsletter… The pithy additions below reader comments! The regular scroll of replies in a conversation! The inboxes stuffed with thoughtful emails that necessitate thoughtful replies!

Alison spoke to half a dozen established newsletter creators and asked them how, where and when they reply to their readers. The post is both actionable and aspirational… Imagine having so many readers that you have to create a process to respond.

For the Magazine Diaries right now, I’d like everyone of my 457 subscribers to write back. Tell me what you’re thinking, let me know what’s keeping you up at night, show me that proof of life.

Is your Grub Street collection complete?

We’ve published four editions of The Grub Street Journal.

The Don Quixote issue: What kind of idiots still make magazines?
The Jerry Maguire issue: Show me the money in magazines
The Walking Dead issue: Why won’t print just lie down and die?
The Next Generation issue: Finding the future’s readers and leaders

Complete your collection

Magazine Songs

I have a Spotify playlist of songs that reference magazines… What? Music and magazines are two of my favourite things. If you have a favourite magazine song, just reply to this email and I’ll add it to The Grub Street Journal’s ‘Magazine Songs’ playlist.

This week, have a wee bop to ‘She Bop’ from Cyndi Lauper.

The Magazine Diaries