Are Bake Sales Next?

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It's come to this: editorial staffers at The New Republic have been selling subscriptions to the liberal periodical to their friends and family members, vying for the chance to win an iPad Mini if they outsold their colleagues.

Forbes Magazine reported today on the intra-office competition, which management labeled a team-building exercise, but there may be something bigger and sadder at work here. Swiss Army knife journalist has entered the lexicon, the Forbes article noted, to describe the role of reporters in today's depleted newsrooms, which includes writing and editing, snapping photos and making videos, recording podcasts and writing code.
A direct plea for financial assistance to readership is gaining traction among publications as advertising revenue evaporates and circulation continues to shrink at most magazines.

The senior editor who bested her co-workers by selling 55 of the 309 special promotional subscriptions sold may have added to her skills set, but it remains to be seen whether TNR, whose circulation has roughly remained in the 50,000 range over the past several years, will benefit in the long run. Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes acquired the periodical in 2012 and assumed the role of Editor-in-Chief.

Fund-raising tip to TNR: gift-wrap and restaurant coupons are easier to hawk than magazines.