No1/ “An Ode to our Fallen Magazines - & Why You Should Hire a Former Mag Hag”

There’s something special about us magazine makers.

For years, we were tasked with the ever-growing impossible. We watched our budgets dwindle. We despaired as our team numbers were slashed. We defended the very core of our titles and the unique parts of our publications that made us magic.

But throughout it all, there was never a blank page.

Through ridiculous conditions and the intense pressures of being magazine editorial, we damn well got our babies out there for their readers, come hell or high water. And trust us, the hell came.

There was something about walking in the doors of our office. It’s like the air was humming with the bursts of talent and creativity that refused to be stifled despite the horrific deadline, the annoying celebrity or the groaning spread sheet.

We weren’t there for the glory, and we certainly weren’t there for the money – we were there because we loved our jobs, our mastheads and our industry passionately and fiercely.

New Zealand has (had?) a disproportionately large magazine readership. Kiwis love their mags. And why wouldn’t you, when you think of the brands that have been swallowed into this odd Covid-induced abyss.

Among them, New Zealand Listener – led by the indomitable Pamela Stirling, a title that had just celebrated its 80th birthday and drove New Zealand’s collective conversation with integrity, grit and absolute world-class reporting.

NEXT –  a magazine that stood up for Kiwi wahine and championed causes such as equal pay, while celebrating our remarkable women with its Woman of the Year awards for 10 years.

And my baby, New Zealand Woman’s Weekly. In its 88th year, the magazine that recorded the social, economic and patriotic journeys of women, from our time as homemakers through to our modern-day juggling act. The magazine you were sent to pick up from the dairy for your mum when you were a kid. The magazine that inspired such love, devotion and passion from its readers, one frequent letter writer told us that she “always kept a copy on my when I’m out and about, because it’s like I’m with a friend”.

And I’m proud to say that we – all of us now former magazine makers – never let any of our readers down, no matter the cost.

So, if you’re looking for someone to fill a post in the near future – someone who can turn nothing into a wonderful something, someone with grit, resilience, unparalleled and creative problem-solving skills and sheer, jaw-dropping talent, I can think of about 237 individuals who fit the bill.

We’re magic makers.

PS – if you have a spare few million lying around, I would highly recommend magazine ownership. Just saying.