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Jon Excell
Editor
The Engineer
An important announcement about the future of The Engineer
Many of you may have heard rumblings over the past few days relating to the future of the print version of The Engineer. I’d like to use this opportunity to address these rumours.
The pressures on print publishing are well known. Increasing distribution and production costs, and the impact of an ongoing economic crisis on advertising revenues, have conspired to create a challenging environment for magazine publishers. At the same time, the rise of the internet — with its global reach, low production costs and unfulfilled commercial potential — presents some truly exciting opportunities.
Against this backdrop, the owner of The Engineer, Centaur Media, is proposing to close to the print version of the publication and focus all of The Engineer’s editorial and commercial resources on growing the website and other digital products. It is proposed that the 16 July issue will be the last in print.
It’s hard to know what our Victorian forbears would make of the proposal to close the magazine. Some would certainly be horrified. Others might well be astonished to know that a publication launched more than a century and half ago is still in existence. But none would have anticipated the rise of the internet — a technological development every bit as disruptive as the invention of the automobile or the aircraft.
Since the relaunch of its website at the end of 2009, The Engineer has undergone perhaps the most striking evolution in its long history. We have been able to extend our reach far beyond that of the magazine, seed daily debate on the key issues, bring our subject matter to life with video and break and analyse news in a way that’s simply not possible within the constraints of a fortnightly magazine.
Clearly this will be unwelcome news for many — If not all — of our print readers. Indeed, given the hard work we’ve put into the magazine, we’d be disappointed if its proposed closure were met with indifference.
But The Engineer will live on and, we believe, continue to grow. We have big plans for the website, including making more of our vast and fascinating historical archive, building on our news and in-depth coverage and expanding our video content. And for those who like their content with a cover and a contents page, we’re launching a monthly digital version of The Engineer that can be read on a host of mobile devices.
Finally, I’d like to reassure all of our readers that the editorial team of The Engineer remains dedicated to maintaining the high journalistic standards and spirit of enquiry that have been at the heart of this important publication since its launch in 1856.
Watch this space for more details on our future strategy.
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Readers' comments (223)
David Phillips | 10 Jul 2012 1:43 pm
The debate around personal preferences for print or electronic will not go away. My personal preference is for print but I accept that there are some economic and environmental arguments that don't support it. The key to future success will the ease of of accessing information across multiple platforms - PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones. With the right tools the journal can continue and succeed. Other organisations have succeeded and I can access articles confortably on an iPhone. Not perfect, but usable. Attention to detail is what will make or break the strategy.
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Adrian | 10 Jul 2012 1:44 pm
I'll miss the print version, even though the pages did burn when I touched them (My degree is in Materials Science).
I've tried to read the articles online, but it just doesn't click with me. Also, how will I kill flies in the truly paperless office?
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Andrew | 10 Jul 2012 1:48 pm
Although I understand the reasons I think this was an ill conceived plan of action. Too many people with little or no access to the internet will miss out on the articles that are presented. I for one am all for progress but this seems all to quick. The idea of PDF's in the print form would allow some of the purist the ability to print off versions they would like to read.....
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Gary Roper | 10 Jul 2012 1:49 pm
Understand all the musings about the print version, but let's be real, it is (sadly) inevitable in today's environment (no pun intended). The new young Engineers coming through are happy to embrace electronic versions of periodicals and being on thye move when reading such. So good bye dear friend, it was great while it lasted.
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Richard Armitage | 10 Jul 2012 1:50 pm
I understand totally and good for our Earth. What formats will web version be in? Can we download to e-book play?
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JON | 10 Jul 2012 1:50 pm
Ah well, won't read it anymore then.
Kindle version?
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Chris Burkitt | 10 Jul 2012 1:50 pm
A very sad loss, it is unlikely that I will bother to read the web based version and we will not be placing any more advertisements.
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Anonymous | 10 Jul 2012 1:50 pm
I have never really looked at the engineer website despite the barrage of emails I always get from them. I only ever read the magazines that come through my door. I'm all for reducing carbon, low impact measures and sustainability but not sure if this is the way forward for the magazine or if i'll continue reading.
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Nick S | 10 Jul 2012 1:51 pm
Sad. Will you be contacting subscribers regards terms etc? Will current subscription cover exclusive web content?
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John Fox | 10 Jul 2012 1:52 pm
I too will cancel my subscription and read a hard copy publication instead. Reading on computer is only good for short items such as e-mail. I always print longer articles, I find less eye-strain reading them that way and can also easily annotate with notes. Sad day. This should have been researched to canvas the opinion of readers.
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