After 40 Years, MCN Makes a Change

by Paul Deffenbaugh | 3 January 2022 12:00 am

For those of you reading the print version of Metal Construction News, you will notice that the trim size is smaller. After 40 years of publishing a tabloid-sized magazine, we have pared back. The magazine is still oversized, but just not as big as it used to be.

In large part, we made this change because our hands were forced. Make no mistake, we love the tabloid size. But, like many of our readers and advertisers, we are facing supply chain issues. We could no longer count on a steady supply of paper at the tabloid size. The reason? We’re in competition with companies such as Amazon who use paper for boxes, and the supply has run short.

MCN will not go down the road of lighter, fluffier articles. In fact, we’re moving in the opposite direction.

Also, like many of you, we took this challenge and turned it into an opportunity. For those reading either the print or digital versions of the magazine, you will see that we have a new design. The pages are more open and easier to read, there is a greater variety of imagery that helps tell a more complete story and we’re using far more elements on the page, such as pull quotes and sidebars, to make it easier for busy readers to skim the magazine and still get great information. Our long-time art director, Grant Kollar, has worked tooth and nail to revamp the magazine and we’re pretty excited about what he’s created.

Just because the magazine is smaller and the design is more open, doesn’t mean we’re sacrificing our depth of coverage and level of detail. No, MCN will not go down the road of lighter, fluffier articles. In fact, we’re moving in the opposite direction. Along with our new design, you will see more stories about technical aspects of the metal construction industry as well as a much greater devotion to looking at the news events in the industry and examining how they impact your business.

The metal construction industry is a unique niche and information specific to it is difficult to capture. You can’t just turn to the U.S. Census Bureau and grab a bunch of statistics about our industry. There is no one classification that aggregates all that data. So, that’s our job. We’ll pull the information from the huge variety of sources, speak with the experts who have the greatest depth of knowledge about the industry and present that analysis to you.

What’s different is that this analysis will be easier to absorb. Busy people can skim the magazine and get value. If you find an article that grabs your interest, you can then do a deep dive to get all the great information we’ve researched and presented.

And for those of you who like to stack your magazines on coffee tables, we know that the new size of MCN will still put us toward the bottom of the pile. That’s okay with us. We’re not here for show. We’re here to help you succeed in a tough business, and that means there still has to be heft to our magazine.

I hope you enjoy the new design and our new approach. We would appreciate hearing your thoughts, so drop me a line when you have a moment.

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/after-40-years-mcn-makes-a-change/

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