Media

Update: Teen mags

I was speaking on the new media panel at the "Breaking into magazines," conference this weekend in Philadephia. Keynote speaker Keith Clinkscale of now defunct, Vangaurd Media, gave an imposing speech about the heyday of Black magazines in the 90s. When the floor opened for questions, I asked him about the movement in the teen magazines sector and he had a very interesting answer.

Clinkscales, a publishing veteran and current SVP of ESPN publications, thinks that the print will not die anytime soon although it will not exisit by itself alone. When I pressed further about the demise of major teen titles this year, he pointed out to a larger social trend that could be blamed for the demise of teen mags.

Who are our teen stars today? It’s Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Hilary Duff — and do any of them dress like teenagers? No. they all dress like grown women. Teenagers don’t want to be associated with the word, "teenager" anymore. These girls are growing fast — and they wouldn’t be caught dead reading Teen Vogue or Seventeen. They are reading InStyle and Lucky and Glamour. Teen titles have failed because they failed to respond to the changing market needs, not because teenage girls don’t read print anymore.

Interesting fodder for the mind.

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