August Blog

Swedes love to travel but this summer many of them are staying at home. Quite a few have a second home in the countryside or the archipelago so they will be just fine, thank you. More Swedes than usual are also exploring new places in Sweden this year, like hiking in the National Parks (that we write about on pages 16-19). When asked why they are not traveling some say it is because of the environment, but the more common reason is the economy.

A lot more people in North America are also staying home or finding destinations closer to home. It can actually be quite nice to take a break without all the stress of travel, customs and other hassles on the road. Myself, I have done a lot of virtual travel lately when writing the daily installments of "Around Swedish America in 365 Days". The trip that you too can follow at www.nordicway.com/tour, is a neat way of finding out about new places without leaving home. It has been an adventure for me, with all the interesting Swedes on this continent and their amazing accomplishments.

I recently found out that the man behind the Indian motorcycle, that was the first motorcycle in America, was none other than the Swede Carl Hedström. The mechanical genius made the Indian into the world's most advanced and best-selling bike in 1907. He even set a new record, riding a mile on the Florida sands on one of his Indian machines in 1 minute and 3.2 seconds. He called it quits at a board meeting because of a disagreement over the company’s dubious practice of inflating its stock value and retired to his Connecticut estate at age 42 (see day 203).

When I saw old war movies I always wondered how they could shoot straight forward from a plane without damaging the propellers. Now I know that it was Gustaf Swebelius (Day 209), the son of a watchmaker in Vingåker, who solved the difficult problem of synchronizing machine gun fire with the airplane propeller, so that bullets could be fired between the blades.

In New Haven on Day 210 you can read about Oscar Mossberg who made a name for himself with the Mossberg rifles. Not to be confused with Frank Mossberg (Day 199) who invented an electric automobile before Henry Ford launched his internal combustion engine.

I had always wanted to do the Swedish-American trip by myself in a car. I might still do that, but for now I am quite content to do it on the internet using my laptop and basking in the sun on the patio.

Have a really nice August!

Anders

PS.

So many readers wanted to see Swedish Press in full color, that we have extended the offer of a free copy of the electronic edition of Swedish Press. All you need to do is email anders@nordicway.com with "free offer" in the subject line.

July Blog

Let me start by assuring all readers that the paper edition of Swedish Press will not be scrapped. We are however making improvements to our electronic edition this year - our 80th year of publishing - with a hope that more readers will see this as a good alternative. And right now you can check this out for free.

Many of you will appreciate the full-color magazine that you get quicker and for less money and doing your bit for the environment at the same time. For overseas subscribers a switch makes even more sense as they can get Swedish Press quicker than the subscribers in the US and Canada, and with a saving of $40 on postage.

Just back from a magazine conference in Toronto, I am happy to report that it is not all gloom and doom in the publishing industry, unless you are a newspaper.

The largest newspapers in the United States have lost between a half and a third of their readership. Coupled with that, their advertising revenue has dropped by a third since 2005, and a further loss of 20 percent is expected this year. The result is that many newspapers, like the 150 year old Rocky Mountain News, are throwing in the towel. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ceased publishing and so will the San Francisco Chronicle, Philadelphia Enquirer, Chicago Tribune and many others. The *Financial Times even published a death notice "in loving memory 1764-2009" for the whole American newspaper industry .

Sweden is not immune, and Metro, that has championed free newspapers all over the world, is consolidating its Swedish editions, concentrating primarily on Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö. Many experts now argue that the free papers will ultimately not have been more than a parenthesis in media history. Some of the same experts are also predicting the end of all printed papers and even books for that matter.

The problem for magazines is the drop in advertising revenues coupled with a rise in costs, especially for mailing. The postal services, suffering from falling revenues themselves, are hiking up the postage for publications since it is really only these (and bills) that they are dealing with today.

The Internet is being hailed as the savior, but most newspapers have given up on the idea of making money on their internet ventures, as it is only niched titles like the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times that have until now managed to charge for their news. But for magazines electronic editions may well be the way of the future. This makes a lot of sense when you consider that about 70% of the magazines you see for sale in the supermarket and stores are not sold. They are recycled or end up in landfills. So it makes a lot of sense for us at Swedish Press to maintain both a “paper” and a rich media “electronic” edition of the magazine.

Have a nice July

Anders

Let me know if you want to see “What is fast, green and in full color” (see offer on the left) and I will get you a first look at Swedish Press in full color! You will understand why I am so excited.