Oh Comely Industries case study - blog tasks

Iceberg Press

Visit the Iceberg Press website - particularly the Who Are We page and the Why Are We Here page. Read the content and then answer the following questions:

1) Why did the people behind Iceberg Press set it up?

Iceberg Press exists to do things differently, the three founders believed that there was a better way to create and publish magazines - where the audience are valued equally with the advertisers.

2) What is the Iceberg Press mission statement? (It's on the Why Are We Here page and is a series of statements).

1- It's all about the audience.
2- Chase the work, not the money.
3- Compromise isn't our friend.
4- We will always make time for ideas.
5- We are stronger when we work with others.
6- We want good people to work in a good place.
7- Every year we will help a cause that matters.
8- We believe in a thing called Print.

3) What similarities do you notice between The Simple Things magazine and Oh Comely?

One obvious similarity is that they are/were part of the same publishing company. Both magazines are very artsy and provide an emphasis on substance over style - very niche. Also, advertising in issues are rare, almost non-existent, following the mission statement "Chase the work, not the money."

4) What differences can you find between Hearst UK, publisher of Men's Health, and Iceberg Press?

Hearst UK and Iceberg Press are their magazine styles/format. Hearst UK is a lot similar to the traditional magazine format - i.e. hew to stereotypes, such as: sex, gender identity, age, socioeconomic status; presently seen throughout Men's Health - whereas Iceberg press actively abandons this formula and instead focuses on catering towards a niche audience, with a clear sight on literature and creative composition.

Writer's Edit journal article

Read this excellent Writer's Edit academic journal article on the independent magazine industry and answer the following questions:

1) What is the definition of an independent print magazine?

2) What does Hamilton (2013) suggest about independent magazines in the digital age?

3) What is the aim of Kinfolk magazine and what similarities can you draw with Oh Comely?

4) Why does the article suggest that independent magazines might be succeeding while global magazine publishers such as Bauer are struggling?

5) How do independent magazines launch? Look at the example of Alphabet Family Journal.

6) What does the article suggest about how independent publishers use digital media to target their niche audiences?

7) Why is it significant that independent magazines are owned and created by the same people? How does this change the creative process and direction of the magazine?

8) What does the article suggest regarding the benefits of a 'do-it-yourself' approach to creating independent magazines?

9) The article discusses the audience appeal of print. Why might audiences love the printed form in the digital age?

10) What are the challenges in terms of funding and distributing an independent magazine?


Irish Times feature

Now read this short feature in the Irish Times on the growth of independent magazines and answer the following questions:

1) Why are independent magazines so popular?

2) Why is the magazine publishing industry set up to favour the big global conglomerates?

3) What does the article suggest regarding finding an audience for an independent magazine?

4) What are the challenges for magazine distributors?

5) The article suggests that many independent magazines only make money by diversifying into other products. What examples do they give?

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