I’m reading my Portland Business Journal for one of the last times. I have nothing against the publication, as I even worked for the parent company for five years. As a subscriber for the last eight years between Portland and Austin, these publications have been a great source of information and advertising leads. Now that I’m retired and out of the business, I don’t want to spend the $100 a year to receive it any more. I only read it now because it still arrives in the mail along with the requests to renew, but soon it will stop being a part of my weekly routine.
I haven’t subscribed to other newspapers for years, and so TV and Radio will continue to be my primary sources for news and information. I also receive two Indiana University magazines as part of my lifetime membership, along with AAA and AARP publications that I only glance through. Print publications like these are slowly dying, as more and more people rely on their aps, websites, and blogs. Even old, retired guys like me that grew up with print are slowly adapting to these digital sources.
I like to search through the travel magazines, but mostly look at the pictures and read very few of the articles. Just like grade school! My wife’s company is a major publishing house, but fortunately her business is primarily their television and digital assets. She brings home a number of magazines and publications from the office to keep me in pictures. I’ve noticed that all these publications get smaller and smaller in size and the paper quality has been compromised to offset advertising and circulation declines. I get the impression that the television and radio business is growing only because of digital. To stay profitable, it’s all about consolidation, hubbing, personnel cuts and stealing share from competitors. It’s a constantly changing business that I’m not missing in retirement. My wife has embraced the digital side of the business, and hopefully can continue to prosper during the next five years until she’s ready to join the life of leisure.
The advertising business has been very, very good to me. Out of habit, I continue to leaf through publications, watch and listen to commercial breaks, and pay attention to sponsorship. My step away from the Portland Business Journal is a giant leap from the advertising chapters of my life. I almost fee guilty for not renewing, knowing that I will no longer be in the know about the Portland business community, and part of the advertising conversations with my working wife. I’ll probably spend the $100 on baseball cards, if not prescriptions rather than subscriptions!
I hope I do more than merely ‘hold on’.