Print magazine companies in U.S. taking to digital initiatives in a big way

Last year the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA), representing most of the largest and many of the medium- and smaller-sized consumer magazine companies in the U.S., began to keep track of digital initiatives taken by magazines, hoping to demonstrate how adapatable magaiznes were to the use of new media.

In the 2nd quarter ended June 30, they found 62 such ventures, up 13% from the same quarter in 2006, according to a story in MediaDaily News. The whole list is available at the MPA website.

Among the big digital movers was Conde Nast, which introduced ad insertion in podcasts, video podcasts, social-networking features and integrated-marketing opportunities for advertisers. Hearst also bowed mobile sites and branded Webisodes, while Meredith offered original video content, desktop widgets and big portal redesigns. Forbes rolled out wiki features, a Facebook partnership and online databases. Hachette Filipacchi bought JumpStart, an online network for auto ads, and Bonnier debuted digital and social-networking features. Finally, McGraw-Hill's BusinessWeek created an online video hub and a free online database.