I recently read a compelling interview with Bob Guccione Jr. (founder of Spin and Gear) about traditional journalism, the future, technology and the media business (among other related topics).  I found the interview insightful and I agree with much of what he says.

In my opinion, traditional media isn’t going to go away fully, but it will most likely evolve into something we can’t foresee right now.  It will be something totally different than what we have today.   I think we’ll end up with an overall expansion of the media industry.   However, in the meantime, I think it will become much more segmented… more regional, more personalized, more tailored to interests.

Case in point is the New York Times expanding regionally to offer local news with a national eye.  It’s a smart tact and one I think (and hope) will pay off.  (Here’s hoping they opt for a Denver edition).

Same goes for magazines. I do think there will continue to be a reduction in the number of magazines (very sad to say) but the good ones will stand strong for now.  If I love architecture, I am not going to abandon my subscription to Architectural Digest.  If I love sports, I am not going to get rid of Sports Illustrated.

I believe that if you supply great content and stay true to your consumer base, people will buy it (and this holds true for an online subscription model also).  I attribute this increasingly personalized and individualized content to the Internet and, namely, Twitter and Facebook.   Here, savvy marketers know to reach their already loyal consumer base with a message that will appeal to them individually.

Guccione’s comment is that in the ’70s and ’80s, newspaper editors would ask him how to get his generation to read papers.  His response: “You’ve got to make it interesting.” Guccione goes on to say that one of the problems is “that they haven’t made it interesting to young people. They have not made it relevant.  They are literally anachronistic.  Until they accept and realize that, they cannot begin the treatment that will save them.”

He also comments on how financial folks and shareholders controlled too much of the content in publications – instead of catering to the wants and needs of the consumer and end-user.  He sees this pendulum swinging back and correcting.

Further, he points out that the very thing that is traditional media’s greatest inherent strength is also its biggest asset – which is quality.  Its power lies in the fact that due to natural competitiveness among traditional media, the very best writers are with the very best publications.

Very interesting times indeed.