JPG

Questions with Publisher Paul Cloutier

1. What do you consider the single most important achievement your magazine has accomplished in today's marketplace?

It has given a audience with a great amount of expertise a voice in publishing, helping to make a an incredibly vibrant magazine.

2. Looking back, what was the most important hurdle you were able to overcome?

Proving that you could in fact make a high quality magazine with the submissions of a diverse online community.

3. What was the biggest pleasant surprise?

The array of contributors. We have people from all over the world and from all walks of life. Magazines should inspire and surprise you, and working with a community like this we are constantly surprised by the range and diversity of the submissions.

4. What is the biggest challenge you are facing today?

Sustainable circulation growth. We are always looking for smarter ways to have a sustainable way to grow our circulation without falling into the trap of cut-rate subscriptions or over saturated newsstands. Our current approach is to develop better viral strategies to enable the community to help with this growth.

5. Imagine you have a magic wand and you can strike the magazine and make it
human? Describe that human being.

JPG Magazine would be an enthusiastic college student that has just discovered their passion in life. This person would be joyful and constantly inspired to discover new ideas about photography. They are very approachable and obliging to help the people around them, their passion is contagious.

6. The number of new magazine launches has been on a steady increase. What
advice do you have to someone wanting to start a new magazine?

To a certain extent every magazine is a community, so in starting a new magazine think about how that community can participate in giving your magazine a vibrance and a pulse. Secondly don't think about web vs. print, magazines are good at serendipity and the visual, and the web is good at data, depth and social behavior. They are both part of the equation of making a magazine. Don't try to make a print magazine that would be better in print, play to the strengths of print.

7. Finish this sentence: In 2011 your magazine will be...

The magazine industry is in such incredible flux right now that any real prediction that far out is purely fantasy, however our goal is for JPG to continue its growth and to become a window into the lives of the community, using its bottom up editorial mentality to foster a shift in the power of how visual trends are dictated.