INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AND THE GEOGRAPHY OF MAGAZINE PRINT PUBLISHING

Magazine print publishing is currently undergoing rapid technical change with the digitization of the printed word. This paper examines the implications of the new information and communication technologies for the geography of this sector within Britain. The established economic and spatial dynamics of magazine publishing are examined, and an assessment is made of the extent to which innovations in desktop publishing and advanced telecommunications are leading to new patterns of spatial structure in the industry. We argue that the new communication technologies are not leading to a general decentralization of magazine print publishing within Britain. For a variety of tangible and intangible reasons, the locational attractions of London remain dominant for the magazine publishers, while the geography of magazine markets make any further decentralization of magazine printing unlikely. Within an international context, however, new technologies may have significant implications for the geography of magazine printing although in this process the established centres of publishing are likely to extend their influence over dispersed markets.