Flailing for Relevance

Right now at Pulpit Helps we're in the process of totally redesigning our website (those of you who've seen the current one are probably saying "it's about time!").

This is just one step in a larger plan to bring the magazine back from the brink of closure; in a sense, it's an act of desperation. As the publishing industry continues to contract, more and more periodicals are shifting their focus online. To ignore the facts and remain print-only is a one-way ticket to going out of business these days.

By the same token, however, print offers a level of legitimacy that can't be had by online-only sources - having a print version takes time, effort, expenditure, and a staff. Anybody and their kid brother can build a website and publish information to their heart's content. Incorporating a publication provides oversight and editing that sharpen content and keep a consistent message that enables you to stand out from the sea of sources available to readers. As such, we're grateful to have that foundation as a print magazine - it's not going to go away.

We're stuck somewhere in between new media and old, flailing for relevance in an era when having something worth saying and saying it "in words that aren't half-dead" isn't enough to garner people's attention anymore. You have to sell yourself and explain what makes your work more worth reading than anyone else's, all without intruding into any potential readers' time for more than a few seconds. The trouble is, people who are good at selling the "sizzle" and people who are good at having something to say and saying it well are very seldom the same people. At larger publications this isn't much of an issue, as you can employ all the people necessary to put both faces forward. For our in-house staff of two, it's a huge shortcoming.

When the chips are down, though, I'd rather we stick to making sure we have something to say. We're hoping that a new website with better technology will enable us to tell more people than ever about the work we do without sacrificing our substance in the process.