Reading the Signs

Fewer and fewer men are reading magazines these days. A study conducted by Time Inc. found a noticeable slide in men's magazine usage.

Our hearts sank, until we saw that men aren't migrating so much from the content of magazines as from the format. The study also revealed: 1) that men spend more time with new media than women; 2) that men visit magazine Web sites more often than women.

The fact that you're reading this on the website of New Man magazine shows you are following a new-media format to find content. And we THANK YOU! Still, we need to consider what this drift away from print magazines means for those of us in men's ministry.

First of all, don't give up on print. It's still a valuable, tangible and personal form of communication that will never be replaced—our strong reader renewal rates prove this time and again. But, print can and should be extended. We need to put more emphasis on creating excellent Web sites targeted at God-hungry men.

Here at New Man, we relaunched our Web this month. We want to create "The leading online community for Christian men." Both the magazine and the online community are essential tools you need for your ministry to men. When you have time, look further into newmanmagazine.com. You can read hundreds of articles, connect with other Christian men and access other tools that we can't provide in a print setting—like our Podcasts and our coming Blogs link.

We believe you'll get a lot out of our new site. E-mail us at newman@strang.com and let us know what you think.