Steve Michelﾒs Journal of Lateral Modernism Vol. VIﾕ No.1ﾕDec.-Jan. 2006

What ever happened to the desktop publishing revolution?:

It's alive and well. Today there are more publications and magazines available than any other time in history. The much touted desktop publishing revolution, that got so much press in the early 80s, put publishing typesetting technology on the desktops of millions. All at a reasonable price. Early microcomputers loaded with DTP software allowed anyone to create content and typeset and format content and create print ready professional documents. No big deal here. With some careful study, anyone could put out a glossy magazine that can rival Vogue or Time magazine. But the clincher is that those same tools were creating a stir in tradional print houses. Countless small print shops emerged capable of competing head on with big players in print quality. They readily embraced these digital tools and continued on business as usual.

In the meantime thousands of magazines are published by part time basement operations.. On everything from literature to macrame.

Despite the ease of production and the over supply of writing, have we become more literate? Do the magazine stands offer more choices? Your supermarket still sells the same tabloids and mags it did decades ago. a trip to your local magazine store shows only an increase of magazines about computing music and videogaming; and the occasional new release. Optimsim is tempered with the fact that some traditional printed mags have seen dwindling sales in the past two decades.

Nowhere is this more true than in the literary field where most printed mags are subject to attrition and get fewer each year. Fantasy Science Fiction(formely operated by Mercury press) and Dell's Asimovs' and Analog magazine have been on a steady downslide. Decades of blockbuster special FX sci-fi/fantasy movies have done little to boost science fiction book sales. The choices are limited to name authors and little else.

But in the 'net, they thrive and multiply exponentially. There a glut of content and no lack of choice. But because there is no central site where one can shop these, extra effort is required to find them if ever they are found. I can see the publishing tycoons wringing their hands in delight as consummers look for choices that are not there. But don't be fooled- choices do exist. But one must look for it and DEMAND. Most DTP is paperless webzines and e-book formats that exist only in the relative obscurity of the 'net. But some, such as Silmulacrum and Apex science fiction magazines, after a decade of anonymity, are begining to emerge from their internet cocoon into mainstream brick and mortar stores. Apex, has been for many years been, one of many sci-fi/fantasy magazine in web-zine format. Now Apex has gone print and has a distribution deal to Borders and Multimag retail outlets. This may show us a trend. Basement operations, that have continued with no advertising income and large distribution, may be, paradoxically, better equiped to offer more choice than large print houses. Time will tell (SM06).

News Dept.:

Has the one way mirror become the new political transparency?

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