"Radio doesn't work... we know, we've tried it." That the reception that I am used to receiving from clients. Based on a single mishandled, poorly targeted, untracked radio test, they come to the determination that the entire medium has no merit for their particular product or service.

It's been a little more than a year since DMNews launched its first-ever circulation marketing newsletter. My, how times have changed. Headlines from our premier issue included NYT presses into Philadelphia, O at Home redesigns for rate base increase and Chicago Tribune expands local footprint. In the following months, we began printing fewer stories about expansion, and more about closings, cutbacks and alternatives to print.

I'm not sure what the digital magazines of the future will look like, but they may look something like the digital flip-book magazines of today. A really good digital magazine reader could provide a very enjoyable experience, with all the qualities of a conventional printed magazine, plus searchability, links to additional content and advertiser's Web sites and embedded video clips. It could be like a magazine on steroids, and you won't be chained to a computer to read it. Once the readers get good enough, things will start to move fast in the direction of magazine content delivered digitally.

Magazines and newspapers have had a bumpy ride along the road to digital expansion. Many are continuing to test new operational models - among them, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The latter had its own Tweeting reporters leak plans from an internal company meeting about the Times' ideas to pursue a paid membership model last week. However, true success stories with monetizing digital content in a sustainable way are few and far between.

The Financial Times ran a story Monday detailing the Wall Street Journal's new plan to charge users for online content. "Micro-payments," or piecemeal charges for individual articles, will power the new revenue system, according to the plan, and I think it has a good chance of success.

Amid all the turmoil and angst in media circles today, the big debate is how media must change to find a new future. Everyone agrees the business model is irreparably broken. Advertising alone can no longer support most newspapers or magazines, which have heavily subsidized subscribers for years. Everyone agrees the future is digital, but digital advertising doesn't provide the volume of dollars necessary to maintain traditional media's sizable investment in editors and writers.

The latest news from the New York Times Co. is that it will not file to close the Boston Globe, as it threatened to on Sunday night amid stymied talks with various newspaper guilds in Boston. The Globe gets a reprieve — but for how long? And at what cost?

As the publishing industry confronts significant challenges, many companies are looking to take cost out of their businesses. Many look to outsource key functions, such as IT, HR, fulfillment, production, research and marketing or consumer marketing. As we have worked in this space for nearly two decades, I am often asked what the keys are to making outsourcing successful. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, there are some things we think are very important.

Last week, Rodale launched new editions of Women's Health in China and the Philippines, as well as a new edition of Prevention in Australia. Last year, this news would not have been all that significant — so many international editions of every magazine were launching, it was nearly impossible to keep up — this year, though, seeing three big launches from a US publisher is definitely something to cheer, and may even be something to learn from.

The pressure on print publishers to save money in today's marketplace is enormous. As pressure increases, more publishers — small, medium and large — have availed themselves of circulation outsource services. This isn't a new concept; it's been around since about 1985. Outsourcing works, and it's an attractive option for many companies.