Magazine Publishers Publish a Magazine

March 20, 2018

You might think it’s a dog bites man story. But it really is man bites dog.

The association representing magazines published a special magazine. Magazines are stepping up their opposition to the Postal Regulatory Commission’s proposal that would raise postage rates 40 percent in the next five years. MPA—The Association of Magazine Media (formerly the Magazine Publishers of America) provides a very clear explanation of the damaging futility of the PRC proposition. Many of its points are relevant to anyone who wants a thriving, surviving, relevant U.S. Postal Service.

PRC Commissioners Taub, Hammonds, Langley and Acton reportedly have binders the size of old New York City telephone books on their desks. These contain over 1,000 pages of comments on their ill-conceived proposal to throw customers’ money at the USPS.

The thinking by the Commissioners is that more money in the hands of postal management will help solve a complex, multi-faceted set of problems. Hopefully they will take the time to read MPA’s magazine articles about how the “throw money” strategy will backfire and sink the “anchor of the mailbox.”

Many individual nonprofits and their Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers filed comments explaining that fundraising budgets versus skyrocketing postage will similarly spell the beginning of the end under the PRC scheme.

Some of our nation’s best and most widely read magazines are published by nonprofits—AARP, Consumer Reports, Guideposts, Ranger Rick, Elks, DAV, and Our Sunday Visitor.

Removing from America’s mailboxes the subscription magazines and the nonprofit charities that households support, follow, and belong to, would only hasten the demise of our national mail agency.