The publishing industry has been hit particularly hard with this recession. Drops in subscriptions and advertisers have hit construction publications particularly hard. McGraw Hill, publisher of several construction related publications, reported 2nd quarter earnings were down 23%. McGraw Hill's media unit, which includes Engineering News Record and its Regional Construction publications saw a drop in profit of 42%. Just two weeks ago, the company announce 125 positions were being eliminated from its media unit.
Just a few months ago, Reed Publications shut down all of its regional construction publications. They also recently announced they were putting several assets on the block and their CEO resigned. So what does the future hold for construction media? In a world where people want news and information instantaneously, the future is bleak for traditional print publications serving construction. Their business model is broken. They have been slow to embrace the change and technology that has swept across the publishing industry. I believe there will be a continued shift to digital publications and eNews products, with specialty and association-related publications being the remaining print assets. For marketers in construction, this also represents a shift in media and public relations strategies to digital and social media. Construction firms will have to focus on alternative means of disseminating their news and influencing their target audiences.
