Bitter-sweet award this one. Mediaweek has always loved print magazines even though we opted out of publishing a hard copy 12 months ago.
For a special interest trade title our print business model was challenging, but for mass-market and special interest consumer titles there is still substantial demand for a print product.
In 2019 Mediaweek will continue to cover the print sector – magazines both large and small – and how those titles and publishers are delivering print and digital audiences for their advertisers.
Winner: TV Week (Bauer)
The weekly TV listings magazine is most valued by Mediaweek readers. The brand is also home to the TV Week Logie Awards.
TV Week editor Thomas Woodgate spoke to Mediaweek after we relayed the good news:
“It’s a great honour to be voted Best Print Magazine by Mediaweek readers.
“There are so many great print magazines out there, so to be voted Best by the Mediaweek readers is wonderful. The TV Week team and I really appreciate the recognition. We’ve spent the past year really trying to deliver the best possible TV and entertainment magazine each and every week that offers all the exclusive access to the stars and behind the scenes secrets that you won’t find anywhere else.
“Our readers are fiercely loyal and passionate about their TV shows and we work extremely hard to service them each and every week. This Mediaweek award is recognition of that and I’m thrilled.”
What were the highlights for the title in 2018?
“It was a tremendous year for TV Week. Along with the usual weekly issues – in which we sometimes tried something different with our cover stars, such as the attention-grabbing cover of The Freak for Wentworth – we continued to deliver the best TV and entertainment coverage that simply couldn’t be found anywhere else. When it comes to access to the stars and behind the scenes TV secrets, no other brand can deliver what TV Week can.
“Also in 2018, we launched a new monthly magazine, TV Week Close Up. Aiming to give our readers more long-form content each and every month, the new addition to our brand’s stable has been well received.
“In 2018, the TV Week Logie Awards moved to its new home on Queensland’s Gold Coast. There was a lot of scepticism about the move, but the feedback I’ve had from networks and TV talent is that everyone had a great time and the move has been a huge success. We’re looking to provide a bigger and better TV Week Logie Awards in 2019.
“I was also extremely pleased to launch the inaugural TV Week Next-Gen Australian Women Of TV, which was a wonderful initiative to recognise women in all areas of media that will be the media trailblazers in the future.”
What were the hottest shows for TV Week readers in 2018?
“In 2018, TV Week readers continued to love reading all about the goings on in Home And Away, Wentworth, Neighbours, Married At First Sight etc. With streaming services releasing more and more watercooler shows, we’ve continued to bring them all the expert reviews, analysis and content that has helped them cut through all the noise out there at the moment.”
When will the 2019 TV Week Logies coverage/nominations begin?
“Voting will open in March again this year so except to see a lot of Logies coverage once again, and the event will be around the same time as last year.”
What can your readers expect in 2019?
“We will continue to bring new and exiting monthly editions with TV Week Close Up and I’ve never been afraid to try something different with our covers and coverage, so you can expect more of that in 2019. I’m always listening to our readers and what they want to see more or less of in TV Week each week.”
Second place: The Australian Women’s Weekly (Bauer Media)
After a decade in journalism in the UK, and over a decade at Bauer Media Australia, Nicole Byers took over as editor of the biggest-selling magazine in Australia toward the end of 2017.
With royal tours and royal weddings, 2018 was a good year for the magazine with no shortage of stories.
Like her counterpart at TV Week, Byers listens closely to her audience.
“That reader feedback makes my job a little bit easier as the readers tell you very quickly when they like something or when they don’t like something,” Byers told Mediaweek shortly after taking over the title. “It helps us craft future issues knowing what is pushing people’s buttons.”
Keeping the print product strong, but also reaching a digital audience is critical.
“The big challenge for media in general is how to keep pushing forward with the digital offering and increasing the brand footprint any way they can,” said Byers.
“We continue to get more via digital and more reader feedback.”
Byers noted The Weekly is part of the Now To Love offering, which harnesses the digital strength of Bauer’s biggest brands. “It is good to be able to reach more people and perhaps a slightly different audience. In days gone by websites used to be a reflection of the magazine and catering to the same people.
“It has become a great way for us to reach an audience we might otherwise not get to with the print product.”
The magazine has had some great covers this year and often celebrates its retro covers. (Follow it on Instagram – @womensweeklymag)
Our favourites: The Quentin Bryce retro cover for subscribers only in July 2018 using the 1940’s masthead, Maggie Beer’s Christmas 2018 cover and Jackie Kennedy’s January 2019 cover.
Third place: Who (Pacific)
Pacific Magazines invested in talent to steer Who magazine during 2018. Toward the end of 2017, Pacific poached TV Week editor Emma Nolan to edit the weekly celebrity title published under licence from the owners of People magazine – Meredith.
Pacific then added to the ranks by hiring the editor of the now defunct Cosmopolitan magazine, Keshnee Kemp, as editor as Nolan took on the role of editorial director.
One of Kemp’s initiatives in 2018 at Who as the first-ever all-Australian line-up for its annual Who Sexiest issue.
Kemp said: “We realised Australia had more than enough talent to fill [our] Sexiest issue. So why not embrace that and make it Aussies only?
“Sexy looks different to different people and so it makes total sense to compile a list that defies age, race and gender, truly recognising what sexy means in modern Australia. We’re thrilled to have an all Aussie issue and we’re equally chuffed that every single person we approached to be on the list said yes.”
