Loo.me

I’ve mentioned in my previous posts that the newspaper model is dead. Reporting and publishing every day and having a dedicated staff to do both just isn’t a business model anymore. Not to mention that can get better content by aggregating the content that exists elsewhere. Several web companies do this well and i like to call them “A & F” companies – which stands for “Aggregating and Filtering” This is what The Huffington Post does and Celebuzz and others. One of my favorite A&F companies isn’t a web company but a print magazine called The Week. What The Week does is take articles, books, and news that’s been distributed over the week and filters it into one condensed version of the best news and articles. It’s more condensed than a typical magazine and often better because it picks the best from lots of media.

One interesting quote i heard today is that The Week is one of the few print titles that’s growing. I read this today:

While newsweeklies such as Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report struggle, one magazine in the category is succeeding. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, The Week saw its paid and verified circulation grow 7.5 percent in 2008. The publication increased its circ from 480,084 to 515,936, as well growing 60 percent on the newsstand. “The Week’s continued growth at a premium subscription price is a testament to the connection our sophisticated readers have with our editorial product,” Steven Kotok, the mag’s general manager, said in a statement. “Our readers are The Week’s greatest evangelists. In 2008 over fifty percent of new subscribers to The Week came through direct recommendations from current subscribers.”

If you’ve never read The Week, you should check it out. Anyone else seen anything similar?

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