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# Let print be print, and rejoice in its tactile nature
- URL: https://onemanandhisblog.com/2024/06/let-print-be-print-and-rejoice-in-its-tactile-nature/
- Published: 2024-06-21T10:48:00.000Z
- Updated: 2024-06-28T10:55:12.000Z
- Description: Magazines can thrive serving markets that are wary of screens, as long as they rejoice in their staus as physical objects
- Author: Adam Tinworth
- Tags: magazines, magazine publishing, print

The *New York Times,* reporting on the [corners of magazine publishing that are still thriving](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/16/business/media/outdoors-print-magazines.html?unlocked%5Farticle%5Fcode=1.3E0.F1io.v-8jIJUoymbU&smid=url-share&ref=onemanandhisblog.com):

> There are sprouts of life, even profitability, on the landscape of print media and magazines, cratered by the pixilated bombardment of the digital age. High-end niche periodicals are popping up, but the trend might be most evident in a burst of small-batch, independent outdoors magazines like Adventure Journal, Mountain Gazette, Summit Journal and Ori. They are crowding into quiet spaces of narrow lanes — climbing, surfing, skiing, running and the like — where quality is key, advertising is minimal and subscribers are faithful. Most do not put their content online; this is journalism meant to be thumbed through, not swiped past.

It makes perfect sense that outdoors-y people might prefer print magazines. While the outdoors adventure Instagram account is a well-worn cliché for a reason, people who spend time outdoors are actively choosing non-screen based activities. And so it shouldn’t be a surprise that they sometimes favour physical reading material as well. It’s the perfect intersection of passion, design, and form into a product that’s never going to a massive business, but will be a sustainable one.

But why did I mention “design” and “form”? Well, because the physical quality of these magazines, the delight they take in their sheer physicality, is part of the point. Debbee Pezman, [*The Surfer Journal*](https://www.surfersjournal.com/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)’s publisher, explains it in the *NYT* piece:

> She does not call it a magazine, but a journal, even a bimonthly book. She noted high-end flourishes, like an embossed title. She picked up an upcoming issue, printed on thicker paper — 18 percent thicker. Why do that?  
> “That’s a really good question, because it’s going to cost, like, $22,000 in postage,” Pezman said. But she sees other magazines entering the market, ratcheting up the standards that she helped set. “It’s just a dial-up of our quality, to differentiate,” she said.

We have our own versions in the UK. I thoroughly recommend *Sidetracked*, edited by Alex Roddie, who [has a blog](https://www.alexroddie.com/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) which is worth a (free) subscribe. He also [wrote a book about trying to use adventure](https://amzn.to/4cETozJ?ref=onemanandhisblog.com) to disconnect from digital that’s well worth a read.

[Sidetracked Magazine – devoted to adventure, expeditions and explorationSidetracked pushes boundaries to share meaningful stories from the world’s wildest places. A magazine devoted to adventure, expeditions and exploration.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Sidetracked![](http://www.sidetracked.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GP-H.jpg)](https://www.sidetracked.com/?ref=onemanandhisblog.com)