Magazines in crisis
Print version 
Georgian magazines are bordering on financial crisis. In the short period after the war the advertising market, on which Magazines are considerably dependent, has decreased considerably.
"Imprint", a popular Georgian monthly magazine's September edition will be printed out of pocket by its editor-in-chief. Nino Daraseli, the founder and editor-in-chief of "Imprint" says, “The September issue will be printed, but I don’t know what will happen then. We are completely dependent on advertisements; the problem is that our advertisers find it difficult to pay for the ads they have ordered, so now we’re waiting for them. The magazine has long and good relations with these companies, that’s why, I can’t demand money from them.”
The printing of a single copy of "Imprint" costs 12 USD, but the selling-price is only 5 GEL. It means the magazine is unable to afford its expenses while the majority of its income derives from commercials.
“We can’t even raise the price. Our readers sometimes find even this 5 lari expensive, and besides, when these big companies can’t pay for their ads, how can the ordinary reader pay more than this sum of money,” said Nino Daraseli. She is not planning change the staff of the magazine, saying, “They are all my friends. We are one entire body, so how can I fire one of them?” The founder is also paying the employees' salaries out of her own money, but just for this one month.
Staff changes are also not expected in another large monthly magazine, "Hot Chocolate". The editor-in-chief, Shorena Shaverdashvili, often talks about the financial problems and the reduction of the advertising market during this period of war, but the October edition will still be on sale at the end of September.
Talks about abolishing the magazine’s sub-sections, “Literature” and “The Cinema”, was discovered to be only partly true. Shaverdashvili explained that, indeed, the October edition won’t have these two journals, but only because of the main Magazine’s special edition.
Members of “Cosmopolitan” and “Bravacasa” have the same problems as other journals. David Gigauri, the General Director, is worried about the current climate. He plans to take some new steps to change the magazines’ marketing policy, but for the present time, he is not changing anything in the current editions of both journals.
“We are lucky, because some of our advertising partners haven't changed anything in their contracts and they continue to pay as we had it in the beginning years; they are the perfume stores “Ici-Paris” and “Voulez Vous”, besides some international companies who aren’t based in Georgia. But others, yes, they have reduced their advertising budget.”
"Imprint's" September issue will be a special war edition, as well as “Hot Chocolate's” next journal. It is dependent on the current market climate if readers will be able to purchase future editions of these magazines.
08 September Mon 2008, 23:12:05 |
