And we thought the print medium was in a coma.
Off the Grid Publishing launched Grid Magazine, its first and only baby last night at Yardstick in Makati. It comes a couple of months after 5 Ports publishing company launched its Mapa Manila series, which is not exactly a magazine but is still a print product.
This gives the print glossy magazine industry a good shake and shuffle. For the longest time, you see, the magazine industry been dominated by only three key players: Summit, ABS-CBN Publishing and MMPI.
READ: Mapa Manila: Never get lost in Manila ever again!
“We didn’t think that we have a direct competitor,” Sonny Thakur, photo editor of Grid Magazine says over the phone. “We felt that there isn’t a local magazine showing off the Philippines enough.” And it’s true. Travel titles abound yes, but they are mostly looking outward instead of in.
And they are destinations-focused, which Grid isn’t.
Unlike most travel magazines in the market, Grid separates itself by (1) tripping out on the country and making the most out of the 7,107 islands the country has to offer. And (2) by putting out “investigative pieces on culture, the environment, sustainable travel.”
On its debut issue for instance, it writes about the cowboys of Masbate, a roadtrip to Baler, and Negros’ Tambobo bay.
“We’re not a guide. It’s not about destinations” clarifies Sonny. “I guess the best way to describe Grid is that it’s a magazine for travelers.” On social media, Grid editors have called the magazine, their “love letter to the Philippines.”
Grid is bi-monthly, with its first issue hitting newsstands this weekend, available for PHP195. Check out some of Grid’s pages below, courtesy of them fine folks at Grid. Follow them on Instagram: @gridonline.
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