Retail distribution
"It is very difficult for independent Scottish publishers to stake a claim to space on shop shelves in Scotland because some of the big retail multiples do not think of Scotland as a country but as a region. In today's fragile business climate, that becomes a political problem - and one that needs intervention, sooner rather than later."
Tom Lovering, PSP Publishing (see p12)
Education & training
"More journalists work for magazines than newspapers in the UK. Why is it, then, that magazine journalism attracts so little attention from outside? Universities, colleges and even schools now regularly teach courses that include journalism - yet newspapers and broadcast news are invariably the focus of attention. It's almost as if magazines don't exist in the eyes of academics. Let's change that."
Jenny McKay, Director of Stirling University's undergraduate Journalism Programme
(see p30)
Business support
"Support for small business development in Scotland is patchy at best with certain areas able to access greater resources than others. Surely a more uniform approach could be adopted? Our company wants to expand yet we find that we are precluded from financial support due to our location."
Alison Bradley, Fusion Flowers
Advertising
"The Scottish Government should issue guidance to the various advertising agencies they use to consider magazines for campaign advertising. On many occasions, the magazines have an almost 100% readership interest in the subject, providing much better targeting and value for money than newspapers."
Alistair Vallance, KAV Publicity
Late payment
"The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act (1998) has had little or no effect as it requires the supplier (us) to levy and then attempt to recover these charges from late paying customers. A company with a turnover of approximately £1m trying to charge interest and a late payment fee to a FTSE 100 monolith may sound great in theory but simply doesn't work in practice."
Paul Begley, 55 North (see p16)
Public sector procurement
Public sector tender documents can be so impenetrable and vary so wildly in what they request that it's hard to know what they are really looking for or whether you are even eligible. And when they are openly advertised, so many agencies respond that it becomes a lottery. The system of invited tenders, where a shortlist of appropriate publishers is asked to submit proposals is better for everyone – particularly the client.
Neil Braidwood, CMYK
