Another week, another spate of new magazine launches. In amongst the obligatory ‘digital-first’ headlines from most new magazine launches, Bauer Media have this week launched a new magazine that proudly has a ‘print-first’ strategy. Called LandScape, the magazine spent a year being researched and is aimed at women aged 35 and upwards, with a keen interest in the countryside and nature. The magazine, published on high quality, glossy paper, will have a print circulation of 170,000

“The magazine is a haven from the pressures of modern living; a chance to slow down,” commented LandScape’s editor, Sheena Harvey. ‘‘It’s a calm and relaxing read and an escape from the stresses of everyday life. It’s also a unique opportunity for advertisers to reach a passionate and discerning group of consumers.”

Research from the PPA, the Professional Publisher’s Association, seems to back up Harvey’s claim. A National Readership Survey shows that 3 million more UK women read a printed magazine than go online. In advertising terms that means that a campaign which used the internet and not printed magazines would FAIL TO REACH the equivalent of the entire female population of Denmark. There you go.

Obviously there are numerous brilliant tablet incarnations of magazines, and more will arrive by the day, but the fact is we’re a country that still loves print magazines. Today’s Deloitte’s sixth annual State of the Media Survey featured in Press Gazette of people who read magazine content in 2011 preferred to do so in print, unchanged since 2010. And 2011 was a good year for magazine subscriptions, with 35% of respondents saying they subscribed to at least one magazine, up from 29% in 2010.

So for all the digital-first headlines, PRs should make sure print magazines continue to be high up on their radar for years to come yet. The PPA suggests that every man, woman and child flicks their way through 20 copies a year and in doing so they spend around £2bn in cover price. So don’t feel old-fashioned in putting your smartphone down for a while and indulging yourself in print. The medium’s well and truly here to stay!