DayStar and Alive Magazines merge to form ‘Alive (incorporating DayStar) magazine’ digital publication

Initiate Media, publishers of DayStar Magazine, has today announced the merger of DayStar with its Australian equivalent Alive Magazine to produce a new digital-only magazine to serve Christians in both New Zealand and Australia.  The new digital magazine will be titled Alive (incorporating DayStar) magazine.

Having served the Christian community with DayStar in its printed format for eight years, the decision to both go online-only and merge with Alive has been made after spending months analysing what is the most sustainable long-term fit for Christian publishing.

“Having already gone down the path in July last year of turning our 35 year-old  Alive Magazine to digital-only, we feel we are really well versed in managing this change in forming a joint digital magazine,” stated Matthew Danswan, CEO of Initiate Media. “It is a huge change, and one that might come as a surprise to some. However, as we are deeply ingrained in the media world and keeping abreast of the technology, this is a change that is happening globally, and even the biggest US publishers are having to adjust the way in which they publish.

“The major challenge was then what to name the joint magazine. We have spent a lot of time working on the new name, but ultimately we feel that ‘Alive’ is more upbeat and a more marketable name than ‘DayStar’. It is not an Australia vs New Zealand decision in any way. There could only be one name, and we believe that this one provides the best fit. Our goal is to also spread the great news about what people are doing for God, and we also believe that Christianity is something to be celebrated. It is not carrying a burden for God, but rather being free to serve Him, and that is why Alive is such a positive name for a Christian magazine.”

Mr Danswan also explained that the move to digital was a global one for many publishers, and that publishers all over the world are having to make some big decisions on their business models.

“Recently we have seen CCM (Christian music magazine) and Today’s Christian Woman in the US come out of print and go to digital-only,” he explained. “Focus on the Family (US) have pulled their youth magazines out of print and have gone online, and Christianity Today has launched an online only magazine for leaders titled Catalyst Leadership. In recent years we have also seen New Man and Spirit Led Woman magazines go the same way.

“More and more, consumers want content for free, as they can access so much free information on the Internet. And advertisers are looking more to online, as it is cheaper, more measurable, and allows for instant click-through to their websites. We are simply moving with the times and developing a business model that will keep Christian publishing feasible long-term. It is early days yet in terms of technology, but the new iPad – plus all of the subsequent readers that will hit the market in the coming months – will really heat up digital magazines, as its technology is ideal for reading magazines online.

“The publishing world has changed forever, and we too need to change our way of doing business if we are to have a bright future. This is essential, as we see our role in Christian media in New Zealand and Australia as being crucial to helping other Christian organisations promote their great works. Media is a very powerful medium for spreading the gospel, and thus our move online not only means that we can open up for our advertisers a market of literally millions of people within NZ and Australia, but we can also spread the Word of God across the globe to anyone with Internet access.

Mr Danswan states that magazines and books will ultimately end up going down the same path as newspapers and music, where content will be delivered online. “The digital age has already turned the music and newspaper industries upside down, with books and magazines now the next two areas to be affected. The final medium will be TV, where we will be watching TV from the Internet. And if it sounds like it’s a long way off, it is not. In the US a website called hulu.com allows you to view all of your favourite TV shows on demand. This is certainly not the end of magazines, just as it is not the end of music CDs or even printed newspapers, but in our niche Christian market, it is a great fit.

“So these changes are extremely exciting, as they give us a whole new lease on life and a platform to reach millions more people – at a fraction of the cost. We have invested a significant amount of money in new website technology for feeding news, serving up banner ads, and creating digital magazines, so the future is extremely bright for Christian media, and we are determined to lead the way.”

DayStar and Alive will offer readers a free subscription, with an email sent to the subscriber’s email Inbox each time a new edition is live. The magazine will continue to be produced six times a year, commencing with the April/May 2010 issue.

The current Editor-in-Chief across both magazines, Lynn Goldsmith, will be retained as the Editor to ensure a relevant magazine is produced for New Zealand and Australian Christians. “We have a great team of contributors in both countries,” Ms Goldsmith said, “so creating one magazine that covers both great nations is more than achievable. It is a challenge that I am certainly looking forward to.”

The combined magazine’s new website will be released in the next two weeks.

DayStar Magazine is part of Initiate Media, publishers of Christian Woman, Church Today, Christiancareernz.com, New Zealand’s Christian Directory and book publishers Ark House Press and DayStar Books. Its Australian operation, Media Incorp, publishes Alive Magazine, the Family Business Directory, ChristianCareer.com.au and ChristianMatch.com.au.

For advertising information, please contact Ray Curle on direct line 09 624 0007, or visit https://www.mediaincorp.com/print-option-alive.html.