The future of magazines part 2, with Mark Ellen, editor of The Word

Last night, I discovered that one of my heroes had once been Father Christmas for a season at Debenhams in Guildford.

Now, you never quite know what you might find out when meeting someone you’ve always admired from a distance, but even so that little revelation wasn’t quite what I expected from Mark Ellen, editor of The Word magazine. The stories about Iggy Pop, U2 and others were much more like it.

I think that The Word is one of the most inspiring magazines on the market right now, and so when the chance came to attend a talk in London to hear him share a few of his theories on the publishing world, I snapped it up. I wasn’t disappointed.

Fortunately, following my defence of magazines against the juggernaut of modern technology, it would appear that his thoughts aren’t that far off my own – all be it with years of experience to shape them rather than just gut instinct.

• The magazine will always have its place in the world, even if that place becomes increasingly niche (we may be witnessing the death of the mass market, but that's not the same as the end of magazines).
• Where the speed of the internet often leads to feeding frenzy analysis, a well cultivated magazine can bring thought through three-dimensional reporting. The focus is on quality here, rather than quantity.
• The internet is an incredibly important, potentially brilliant and complimentary part of a wider magazine experience - a place for readers to mingle, share common ground and become part of the club. Used well, it could help to secure the future of a magazine.

Thoroughly inspiring, and despite whetting our whistles afterwards, over tales of music’s lost mystique and Christmas holiday vocations, I still remember most of it. As someone whose attention span through university lectures wasn’t always what it could have been, that’s no mean feat in itself.

What are your views on the matter? What is it about magazines that makes you want to hit the subscription button or trek down the shops? Or, have you already consigned them to the recycling bin in favour of their electronic cousins?

Matt