Mediabistro.com managing editor Rebecca L. Fox reports from the 2007 American Magazine Conference in Boca Raton:

"In a panel talk entitled 'How Publishing Companies Position Themselves for Growth: Best Bets for the 21st Century,' it was panelist Wenda Harris Millard--a former Yahoo! executive now serving as president of media at Martha Stewart Omnimedia--who delivered the strongest words to magazine industry members. 'There's no question in my mind that this is a revolution,' she said to the crowd of online media. 'There's no question that the consumer is way ahead of us.'"

Mobile media has thrown an additional monkey wrench -- and an additional opportunity -- into the situation, giving magazine publishers a new platform to deliver content to their readers, not to mention an additional revenue stream on the advertising side. Sites like mobile.time.com, m.esquire.com, and mobile.pcmag.com show how the glossies are taking their content to cell phones successfully.

The problem of tagging and indexing content on handsets is even more important than it is online. That's due to the tiny screen, comparatively difficult user interface, and the presumed shorter attention span of the reader.

AMC 2007: Online, 'The Consumer Is Way Ahead of Us' [FishbowlNY]