In early July, the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA), the publisher of PL, held a one-day workshop to discuss the future of the magazine. The workshop was attended by members of PL’s editorial reference group, NAPWA board members and staff. We discussed the changing landscape of HIV treatments, the strengths and weaknesses of a printed publication like PL, and the best ways to ensure that positive people across Australia have access to the magazine.
The changes we’re announcing today are based on the recommendations of that meeting.
From 2007, the number of issues of PL will be reduced to four per year, and the number of gay and lesbian community newspapers carrying PL will also be reduced. At the same time, NAPWA will expand the amount of HIV-related news and information available via the NAPWA website (www.napwa.org.au).
The July workshop noted the esteem in which PL is held by people living with HIV/AIDS – it is Australia’s only independent, national, treatments and lifestyle resource. But attendees also noted a number of weaknesses – in particular, the publication schedule does not always enable us to disseminate important breaking news in a timely way. NAPWA hopes the changes announced today will improve our ability to reach positive people with important information much more quickly and directly.
By reducing the number of issues of PL produced each year, NAPWA will free up staff resources to improve the range of information available on our website. The printed publication will continue to exist, with an increased emphasis on in-depth analysis of important and emerging treatment issues.
The meeting also discussed the distribution arrangements for PL. For many years, PL has been included as an insert in gay and lesbian community papers, and this is how most readers of PL obtain the magazine. But this approach has its limitations – not all people living with HIV/AIDS are gay men, not everyone reads the community press, and not all parts of the country have a local gay paper in the appropriate format for PL. It’s also a relatively costly approach.
In addition to press inserts, NAPWA provides copies of PL to AIDS councils, PLWHA organisations, clinics, positive living centres, and other locations, and we also provide a free postal subscription service. This will continue and we plan to improve the availability of the magazine wherever possible.
PL will continue to be included as an insert in the Sydney Star Observer and Melbourne Community Voice newspapers; however the December 2006 issue will be the last to be included in Out in Perth and Blaze.
The decision to reduce the number of community media carrying the magazine has been a difficult one, and we’re especially keen to ensure our Western Australian and South Australian readers continue to receive the magazine. No matter where you live, the best way to ensure you never miss an issue of PL is to take out a subscription – the service is free, confidential and PL is mailed in a plain brown envelope. Complete the form at the bottom of this page or visit the website to subscribe.
Alternatively, if you’d prefer to receive PL electronically, consider subscribing to our email edition. It includes links to all the stories we publish in PL, and it’s delivered automatically to your email in-box. Details are available on the website.
Some things won’t be changing. PL will continue as a printed publication; it will continue to be an independent positive voice on the issues which affect us; it will continue to provide an Australian context and Australian content; and it will continue to evolve in response to the changing landscape of HIV.
