Mana magazine may be reaching the end. Derek Fox, "part owner and editor of the Maori affairs magazine Mana has announced he is looking for a buyer as the publication struggles to survive."
There is a natural cycle to magazines. They grow, they plateau, they decline. magazines are static and are created at a certain time for certain reasons.
"At its peak Mana had 30 staff, working in print and radio."
"Former Mana journalist Rereata Makiha said the magazine captured the soul of Maori stories when it launched 17 years ago.
"The magic was in how people pulled together to change how the mainstream reported Maori stories."
"Broadcaster Willie Jackson said both the Manukau Urban Maori Authority, which he heads, and Waipareira Trust, which his Radio Live co-host John Tamihere runs, were interested in buying Mana ."
"We think the name is a good brand, no doubt about that. It's got a good name and history but it needs a bit of spark.""
The name 'Mana' is great, but it is hard to keep a magazine going in these times. That is why Ngai Tahu are fortunate with Te Karaka; there is no commercial imperiative for that magazine. But the same issues face both, and those issues relate to relevance and connectivity. New ways of creating and enhancing communication offer complementary rather than competitive options, for instance, an on-line and paper magazine can have different sections determined by the medium. And they can also have similar or connected sections where they intersect. We just have to concentrate on the goal of the communication. Much more time thinking about what we are trying to achieve.
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