AOPA follows PRA's lead

ms80831

PRA member since 1973
Joined
Dec 15, 2008
Messages
1,546
Location
Colorado Springs CO.
Aircraft
Cessna 210 +, Xenon RST, Citabria
Total Flight Time
2000+
AOPA follows EAA and PRA's lead on digital magazine

I Found this in my in box today---

Attendees at AOPA Aviation Summit in Long Beach, Calif., were the first to get a sneak peek at the latest offering from the AOPA Media staff: digital editions of AOPA Pilot and Flight Training magazines. The digital editions, to be available in early 2011, provide, page for page, everything AOPA members have come to expect from the print editions, and so much more.

“Over the past several years, our editors have been adding more and more online extras—videos, additional interviews, slide shows, and the like—that readers have been able to access by going to a computer and visiting AOPA Online,” said Tom Haines, AOPA senior vice president of media and editor in chief of both magazines. “With the digital edition, readers can access all of that extra material directly from the magazine—something that we think will appeal to a large number of our members.

“But for those who prefer to sit down in an easy chair and flip leisurely through the magazine, they will still be able to,” continued Haines. “We will continue to print the magazines and members will have the option to choose the print or electronic edition—or both.”

When readers who chose the electronic edition open it, they will see the same magazine as their fellow members who choose the print edition—the same layout, the same photos, the same articles. And they’ll be able to “flip” through the pages. But embedded within those pages will be all sorts of extras, such as videos and additional photos that would not fit in the print edition. Other features will include polls, surveys, extended content, links to social networking sites, and more. Members will be able to comment on articles and share articles with others. All Internet links included in articles will be “live,” so readers can highlight the link and go directly to the website. And if readers see an ad for a product they’re interested in, in many cases they will be able to simply tap the ad and go directly to the advertiser’s website.

“While we frequently get requests for digital editions from members, we recognize that an electronic magazine is not going to be for everybody,” concluded Haines. “But for those who make the leap, we think it opens up an amazing realm of possibilities.

“We’re excited about adding the digital edition, and think our readers will be, too, when it comes out early next year.” —AOPA Communications staff


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
That's pretty cool. And it gives us some ideas about what we can do with our E-Zine to make it even more attractive to our members. I really think we are on the right track. (and it's kind of cool to be leading the way - at least in something)
 
So in the past 12 months that makes EAA PRA and AOPA that have all gone to the e-zine format.
 
So in the past 12 months that makes EAA PRA and AOPA that have all gone to the e-zine format.

Also, my local EAA chapter, and the homebuilt helicopter magazine.
 
AOPA and EAA are offering both print and e-versions of their magazines, and the print versions are big, fancy, full color productions. That doesn't sound much like following PRA's lead to me.
 
My Experimental Helo magazine just went digital. I did not like the idea, but after receiving my first on-line issue, I like it.

Stan
 
AOPA and EAA are offering both print and e-versions of their magazines, and the print versions are big, fancy, full color productions. That doesn't sound much like following PRA's lead to me.

OK, so let's change the headline to read,

AOPA follows EAA and PRA lead on adding electronic magazine. Speculation begins on when they will drop the print version.

How long do you suppose it will be until the Electronic is free (or rather included with basic membership dues), and the glossy expensive print version is an additional extra charge, followed in a few years by " due to declining member support, AOPA announces they will drop their print version effective Jan 1, 2019, following PRA's lead. ?

And FYI, PRA still has an optional print version available if I read the notice correctly.

Have you not noticed that several major newspapers and national magazines are no longer printed, but are electronic only. The Washington Times comes to mind.

This is a national trend. It doesn't just apply to aviation related magazines.

.
 
Last edited:
http://www.sfweekly.com/2009-11-18/...the-decline-of-print-media-go-to-the-library/

"These last couple of years, we've seen a lot more magazines go online and shut down, much more than in previous years," says Stephen Lee, a library technician who has spent 15 years in the magazine department. "Before, we hardly ever had to tell patrons, 'Sorry, this magazine shut its door.'"

For librarians, the death of magazines can be oddly like watching old friends go. "It's kind of like being the last one at the party, seeing who will still be there," says Halsted Bernard, a library technician at the Main Library. Reference librarian Chanetta Jackson is encouraging others to write to Condé Nast in hopes of reviving the now-defunct Gourmet, the last issue of which is now on library shelves. "If enough people write in, we might get to keep it," she says.

Lawhun says the decline in print subscriptions reflects consumer demand. "Patrons and students want fast access on their PCs at home," she wrote in an e-mail, "so spending has moved to online databases with full-text articles rather than print copies."

This year, the Main Library boosted spending on its 106 databases and online resources from $750,000 to $1 million.
 
AOPA has ~385,000 paid members; EAA I think has something like 170,000. When you're in numbers like that, ads become valuable enough that the magazine becomes a profit center. Comparing either to PRA is dubious.
 
Top