Newspaper and magazine closures, program cancellations, staff layoffs and newsroom cutbacks‹much of the news about the news these days certainly isn't upbeat. Yet as the news hole contracts and media fragmentation escalates, new opportunities emerge for mainstream and even nontraditional media, and, frankly, for the PR folks who work with them. For example, bloggers are increasingly filling the content vacuum created by the closure of regional dailies — bloggers PR practitioners can actively engage, pitch and build relationships with. Similarly, traditional print and broadcast outlets are increasingly integrating content online to reach lost audiences — audiences happy to view online video, multimedia, pictures or other content, regardless of the source.

While not necessarily a panacea, the move to digital represents a turning point for the media — one that gives wider audiences what they want in a format many increasingly prefer, and one that potentially can deliver editorial for less. In fact, there are those who say today's print media‹newspapers, magazines, newsletters‹will go completely digital, and sooner than you may think.

Among them is Anne M. Russell, editor in chief of VIVmag, the exclusively-digital women's lifestyle magazine launched by Zinio, a digital and interactive products service provider with over 1000 magazine titles from top publishers like McGraw-Hill, Hearst, IDG and Ziff Davis using its online publishing applications and interface. It's a media interface that syncs well with today's touch screen readers, including new Zinio partner Plastic Logic's pending eReader, which should see widespread commercial availability in 2010.

"I know magazines will go totally digital — as soon as two key roadblocks are removed," says Russell, who previously served as editor in chief of Shape and prior to that was the editorial director of Fox Television's Health Network, where she oversaw the Network's website as well as on-air content. "First, is that the traditional structure of publishing companies doesn't lend itself to making a radical shift like this. In traditional media, you have to play within the rules and world you're given. For magazines and papers with extended printing contracts, pressman's unions and so on — they can't just say, "Never mind, we can't print any more. Entire departments are devoted to putting material on paper. So, it's hard to convince them to go 'all digital' right now — tradition and structure weigh against it."

Other factors holding things back: "Having the right device to read digital media on anywhere we go is an issue," Russell continues. "People say they want to read magazines at the beach, for example. If I drop People in the water, it's one thing. But if I drop my computer in the water, it's another. So, we'll need to see more robust devices beyond the Kindle. That will include things like a flexible display screen like the ones made by Plastic Logic. They're not ready for prime time, but they're being seen at tradeshows and elsewhere‹so it's coming."

What other developments does Russell and the team behind VivMag and Zinio see reshaping the future of media in the months and years ahead? What big media and publishing trends must PR practitioners be apprised of to stay relevant in today's shifting media landscape? Read on:

Beyond digital, what other changes in media consumption behaviors is Zinio and VivMag tracking, through market research or otherwise, these days?

At this point, virtually everyone in the U.S. is trained to read everything on a computer. It's no longer a mystery how these things work. People are fairly computer savvy. So with going digital as a baseline, the next major shift is that things have gone mobile. That puts a real onus on media companies to think about the end user and how they'll receive their information. Right now, for example, we're working on bringing out a fully featured iPhone version. It's the wave of the future.

The biggest challenge for us technically is that the iPhone or Apple doesn't support Flash. Since we're an interactive magazine, we depend heavily on Adobe's Flash software. So the challenge is figuring out a way to change navigation and functionality so it's still a pleasurable experience as it is now through our Zinio reader. For VivMag to reduce itself to 140 characters for a Twitter app would be impossible. But in terms of offering a rich media experience, mobile devices certainly are a focal point now.

Related to this is something that is still in development: We recently did a test with our "VivShops" application that lets you shop from your phone. We're also working on the concept of breaking the magazine into pieces‹to let the reader navigate hierarchically through the magazine in a way that is very different from how you flip through a magazine or use the Zinio reader, actually. On the iPhone, you see very small pieces of information at a time. You need content structure that won't cause the readers to lose themselves in the navigation.

A second key trend and development beyond mobile is, of course, social media. We have a Facebook page‹but it's not very robust. It spooked me that Hallmark's magazine went up on Facebook, got a rousing start and then went out of business. So, we're still working on how to incorporate or leverage social media networks like that. Those things will be more important moving forward. Almost everybody working within our company uses LinkedIn and other social media to keep people updated with what we're doing, so that's one aspect of this‹using it to promote versus publish. Similarly, our contributors use social media tools like this when reporting and writing stories, so this will be a continued development as media sorts this out.

Another trend we're watching and that's impacting media is crowd sourcing as a phenomenon. This has to do with instantaneous reach to audiences, sources and resources. This has changed reportage and writing. I am astonished how much the digital world is changing reporting. Instead of calling ten people one by one by one, you can send a query out on Facebook, for example, asking for a shopping expert. One of our contributors did that just this morning.

ProfNet isn't as casual — you don't know what you'll catch there. HARO is similar. A downside with those tools is that everybody sees your query. That happened to us where we got picked up on Gawker and were made fun of because they saw a query in that open forum. But on Facebook, you're connected to like minded people who are actually your friends. It's more targeted, and it doesn't have to be an open forum if you don't want it to be.

Will mainstream media ever convince the general public to pay for online content?

Where MSM has a bad case of cold feet in the digital world is making people pay for digital content. That's tough. I'm not sure why The New York Times doesn't' make me pay for the website, given how much I used to spend on the paper. They lost a $600 per year customer in me because I can just go online free. It's mind boggling, but nobody wants to go first in terms of charging. They are looking to the future for a solution. It's just not here yet.

Best case scenario I've heard is that MSM needs to come up with system somewhat like PayPal, where you're charged on a per-use basis. There's no way to put a dime on a credit card when you look at a page, but is there a debit system that lets you pay in the background for content? That's the question, and that's likely going to be the model moving forward‹though there will be some kicking and screaming. 

The fact of the matter is that if all print media fails and ceases to exist, then this makes it more likely that people will pay for media. It's the same with TV. Unions are powerful in TV. It's a slightly different set of problems, but the idea of free TV through the Web also needs a financial resolution. Right now, the Web is not stealing cable customers away yet, but I can see the beginning of development of technology that will allow you to really control your TV through the computer — technology that will let you bypass cable programming and so on. That's just beginning to be workable.

What other media trends and changes should PR practitioners be watching for?

One really unfortunate trend from the journalist point of view is the round after round of layoffs that we're seeing. From a PR person's perspective, you've lost a lot of your contacts. But on the other hand, it opens the door to more opportunity as journalists have less and less time to research. My prediction is that most media will become more dependant on what they're pitched. So there's an opportunity to work with younger, less experienced reporters now to really place stories effectively, because there just isn't time for reporter to do their own work like before.

Since Life magazine went out of business, another trend we've seen is increased specialization of media. There are more and more specialty networks. It's getting down to the point where you have an audience of one. So, we're seeing less unification of the audience‹more fragmentation and splintering of audiences is the norm now. Everything is becoming increasingly narrow.

This actually makes a PR person's job much harder. You now have to craft a specialty pitch for every single blog, station, outlet and so on‹otherwise, it's not relevant to them and their audiences. Not only are there 500 mom websites, but there are thousands of other specialty groups. That said, there is an opportunity for PR people to become one of those groups or specialty publishers, especially in the social media space and blogging. Some companies have gotten static over things like "self blogging." But for everyone caught doing it, 20 haven't been.

The opportunity for PR is opening your company or client up to the public using these channels yourself. But that effort must be transparent and you must be willing to hit the delete key very fast. Even on our own site, I see comments that aren't fit for the public eye. You have to be ready to engage, and you have to be responsive.

Let's break away from all things digital and media for a momentŠwhat fundamental media relations tips can you share with our readers?

I find that PR people have generally changed with the times. They'll respond to me via their Blackberries after hours, and so on. And we're not even deadline sensitive as a bimonthly. But overall, I have found the pace of business has picked up thanks to email and technology. The PR people who recognize this do things like provide digital media kits and so on, so we don't have to wait for a CD, for example. Speed is of the essence today. Beyond that, I would advise PR people to have multimedia resources on hand. We want video clips we can download immediately, for example. Put those types of things in your online newsroom or make them available on a Flash drive, and they will get used.

What about your work in the media do you love‹despite all the upheaval we're seeing industry-wide?

I like women's service. VivMag is a luxury women's service title. I like that aspect of it — the element of helping and supporting and validating women in what they want to be doing. The audience we serve, 35 and up, is not well served. So I'm glad to be doing this. The relationship female readers build with a magazine or media outlet can be a very important one. I love the sense of audience — a targeted audience that shares your vision and values is important to me.

I also like that there's a tremendous amount of room to be creative — and it's not limited to a 2D page anymore. I can make things move. If I want to show people how something is done, they can see movement, video, sound and so on. The richness of the experience creates more depth and intelligence to the readers' experience. So I love these things and I think we're working on the edge of some great innovations in media here.

Our creative director [Campion Primm] and I spend a lot of time thinking about how things come to life online. How do you make information move, capture the essence of a story through interactivity, and so on? I like that‹the entertainment factor coupled with sharing of information. I also love the topics we cover, which range from travel to health. I am interested in those areas and have a background in those areas.

I also have an amazing group of contributors nationwide. It's a great team and we don't have to be in one newsroom in the same place. For example, our health editor is based Kansas. This is something I think you'll see more of in media, generally speaking.

What do you do in your free time. and how might that inform the way your approach your work in the media?

I like to do triathlons. For example, I raced in the Agoura [Calif.] 10K run Saturday. If there's some metaphorical similarity between that and media work it's this: It's not good enough to be good at one thing in the media and even PR anymore. To be super specialized these days is not a good idea. If you're in TV now, you also have to be able to generate Web content, for example. It's the same with triathlons: You have to make the various and disparate skills work together to get to the goal. Also, triathlons can be very uncomfortable and very difficult. But you don't stop, despite the pain. When things get difficult, you have to keep going and adjust to the changing environment around you.