'Axed charts the dramatic decline of the magazine industry in Australia from the million-selling highs of the 1990s to the recent round of mergers, closures and mass-redundancies. What went wrong?
'Australian magazines once boasted the highest circulation per capita in the world. Former magazine editor Phil Barker follows the story from this golden age to today, showing how mismanagement, unchecked spending and the challenge presented by the rise of the internet all combined to undermine the previously unassailable position magazines held in the Australian consciousness.
'Prominent magazine executives and editors who witnessed the industry’s decline and failure to capitalise on digital opportunities have gone on the record for the first time. Featuring in-depth analysis of archival reporting and brand-new interviews with key players, Axed lifts the lid on the scandals behind the industry’s swan dive.
'But Phil also talks to the people who have managed to pivot in a fast-moving media landscape and believe magazines are a part of Australia’s future. Are magazines really dead, or is there still some hope for survival?' (Publication summary)
'As the Internet does today, the illustrated magazine significantly defined Australian readers’ knowledge of the nation and the world for much of the 20th century. Magazines graced domestic spaces and dentists’ surgeries; magazine stands filled busy city street corners and transport hubs; and publishers, government departments, and tourism bureaus sent magazines overseas to attract migrants, business investments and tourists. Up to 800,000 Australians read the Australian Women’s Weekly by 1961, with many other titles regularly achieving large circulation figures in a commercial market that in 1963 included 900 journals and magazines. The Weekly continues to provide new avenues for scholarly research, from education to art history to Cold War politics, as well as food and fashion histories. Our themed section for the Journal of Australian Studies forms part of a research project designed to diversify magazine studies in Australia, to broaden the sources and understanding of their significance in Australian cultural history, and to connect scholarship across disciplines and link it to new international developments.' (Introduction)
'As the Internet does today, the illustrated magazine significantly defined Australian readers’ knowledge of the nation and the world for much of the 20th century. Magazines graced domestic spaces and dentists’ surgeries; magazine stands filled busy city street corners and transport hubs; and publishers, government departments, and tourism bureaus sent magazines overseas to attract migrants, business investments and tourists. Up to 800,000 Australians read the Australian Women’s Weekly by 1961, with many other titles regularly achieving large circulation figures in a commercial market that in 1963 included 900 journals and magazines. The Weekly continues to provide new avenues for scholarly research, from education to art history to Cold War politics, as well as food and fashion histories. Our themed section for the Journal of Australian Studies forms part of a research project designed to diversify magazine studies in Australia, to broaden the sources and understanding of their significance in Australian cultural history, and to connect scholarship across disciplines and link it to new international developments.' (Introduction)
