Columbia Press, publishers of Perth’s X-Press Magazine is set to ‘hand over the baton’ after it revealed plans to sell off the magazine, which Columbia believes will continue in print. Publisher Joe Cipriani says the company is headed in a digital direction, but believes print is still a viable market.

Sell off: X-Press Magazine

He says, “We are in the midst of a digital revolution, where Columbia will continue to develop the platforms it publishes to the entertainment and lifestyle market. “Printed media is the cash cow for the magazine and newspaper market currently along with the digital offerings on the rise. In some cases print will drop more in some areas and digital will increase along with the necessity to rationalise the cost base. Cipriani says the challenges print faces is being experienced in other industries, “The upswing in the market will depend on the improvement in economic growth, this is the real issue with most industries now; the market is extremely tight.” Columbia admits it was ‘simpler times’ for Perth 30 years ago when the magazine was first launched, and after 1500 issues it is ‘time to take a backseat.’ According to its website, X-Press is currently Australia’s highest-circulating free weekly entertainment and lifestyle magazine, with 40,000 copies distributed from 1000 outlets weekly.

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