Thad McIlroy - The Future of Publishing

I missed it in March, but caught it today. As part of the 31 magazines that have folded in the first 6-months of 2009 in Canada, we will now be deprived of “Wedding Essentials For Same-Sex Couples.”

Brandon Jones, who with his wife Christine publishes Wedding Essentials, noted that because they are not gay it was difficult to garner ad purchases from gay-oriented businesses. Jones said: “We weren’t insiders.”

The article in MastheadOnline continues: “As far as Jones knows, no other magazine of this kind exists in North America. But he does believe that in the future, a same-sex wedding title—possibly run by people with more direct ties to the gay community—can thrive. ‘I think there are some large advertisers that at long-last are beginning to realize that the gay community is well-heeled.’”

Besides learning that the gay community, previously without heels, in now well-heeled, my only thought is that if Wedding Essentials had been titled Wedding Essentials for Heterosexuals, it might well also have folded by now.

Sometimes the future of publishing sends you down the wrong turn in the road.