BBC History Magazine

[Steve L]

Are there any plans to make the magazine available in the digital downloadable format so that we would be able to read it on e-reader devices such as Kindle or iPad? That would be fantastic.

[Rob Attar]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for getting in touch. There are no specific plans to do this at present but that's not to say it won't happen in the future. We recognise that more and more people are accessing their content in this way and so it is certainly something we will be considering.

Rob

[Steve L]

Rob,

Thanks for the reply! I am a great fan of your podast reporting!

Steve L.

[dcdcosta]

"No specific plans to do so at present" -- could there be eight sadder words in the language?

As history buffs we can now appreciate why no revolution or cataclysm can be large enough or plain enough or obvious enough for this mantra not to be automatically invoked by the most affected people.

With the coming of the iPad it is plain that the much awaited era of digital reading is upon us, but, alas, BBC history has no plans to join the party.

One might have hoped that the tiny overseas subscription sales along with the interest kindled by the podcast might have provoked "specific plans" or -- unthinkably? -- an actual digital response.

One committed teenager with a scanner and a PC could actually do this by month-end.

Oh dear.

[dcdcosta]

HOORAY!!! Practically minutes after I posted my wail (and sent the attached email to the editor) his response was in my hands. And an excellent response it is, so I withdraw any snarky inferences from my original post. A well-crafted digital edition of this excellent magazine would be a treasure trove for readers and I'm counting the days till it appears. Good for them!

(I attach copies of the relevant correspondence, with due apologies for not asking prior permission to do so. But we all know there are no secrets in the brave new digital world!)



Hi David
Thanks for this. We'll have our ipad version available in a month or so. We'll give details on the podcast.
Dave

Dave Musgrove
Editor, BBC History Magazine
0117 3148318
________________________________________
From: David DCosta [dcdcosta@bellsouth.net]
Sent: 24 June 2010 14:42
To: Dave Musgrove
Subject: A Modest Proposal

Thank you for an excellent podcast.

As a US listener/resident the price of a magazine subscription is out of the question. I can understand that the exorbitant price has to be a function of distance sent and trees killed, but what I find puzzling is that you don’t seem to have worked out that a new age is upon us. May I humbly suggest that without further delay you scan and .pdf all issues and make them available digitally at a reasonable charge? It could greatly expand your readership and, properly done, would not poach from your printed magazine subscribers.

Even better would be a digital magazine directed to the burgeoning iPad and eReader marketplace. May I suggest that you look at “Wired” magazine now available on the iPad? A BBC History magazine along the same lines would be an obvious winner. And, just to hearten you, look at Wired magazine’s instant financial success with this app. Note that it has NOT been to the detriment of their printed edition.

In (futile?) hope,


David DCosta
dcdcosta@bellsouth.net

[Belgian]

I hope that the editors in all their wisdom do not restrict the electronic version to just one format.

As I do not have a clue to what format the overpriced and overhyped Ipad uses, epub or PDF should not be forgotten... For some of us mere mortals have to make do with simple, more powerfull netbooks (flash support, multitasking,...) or ebook readers (1/3 of the price, and bit more economic on power).

Anyway, to keep in the touch with the spirit of the magazine... hats off to Mr. Jobs, he must be the first person in history to get this much out of a marketing product, or were there others?

Kris

[BryceS]

Totally agree. While the iPad app is probably better at preserving the layout of the magazine, it's the content that is most important, not the layout.

With the UK version of the Kindle store launching at the end of the month, that is the most obvious means to get your content out to the most number of possible customers, not just those people who can afford an iPad.

Amazon have free to download Kindle readers for PC, Mac, Android, iPhone and the iPad, so a Kindle edition would please both Kindle owners and could also be targeted at many, many more people.

I've ordered my UK Kindle, and when I receive it, hopefully I'll be buying a subscription to BBC History Magazine. If it isn't available, well if you you don't want my money, that up to you...