Media News - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Esquire unveils e-magazine with flashing cover

American readers of Esquire are soon to be exposed to the publishing industry's latest attempt at re-inventing itself: a magazine with a flashing cover. The September issue of the magazine will have a tiny built-in battery, which will power a display on the cover that flashes the words 'the 21st Century Begins Now.' It would appear that readers will not to be able to interact with the magazine, however, and after 90 days the battery will run out. David Granger, Esquire’s editor in cheif, said the idea for putting electronic components in a magazine was borne out of a frustration with the industry's lack of progress. Publishing experts dismissed the idea as a gimmick, however. The flashing cover was produced by Esquire in conjunction with E Ink, a Massachusetts company whose technology was used in the Kindle, the "e-reader" device made by Amazon. Esquire first had to hire an engineer in China who could build a battery small enough to be inserted in the cover. The batteries and display case are manufactured in China, then shipped to Mexico, where they are inserted into each copy of the magazine by hand. The empowered magazines are then transported to the distributor in Kentucky via refrigerated truck - to preserve the life of the battery. The new cover will only be inserted in 100,000 magazines, despite Esquire having a circulation circulation of 720,000. An ad on the inside front cover for Ford, the motor company, will also take advantage of the display. (The Times Online)

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