In today’s technological world, many wonder if the future of magazines and print will be nonexistent. The Internet is booming more now than ever before. Many believe that a future in print is slowly fading into the shadows and becoming commonplace.
Gal Shweiki, president and founder of Shweiki Media, believes print is still alive and thriving. It is just living alongside the technology and the demands of the public.
“The world has seen the future of print and it’s still print; but it’s going to need to evolve to exist along side the new and exciting digital platforms,” he says. “Magazines have a special relationship with their readers. Most people look forward to picking up their favorite magazine each month. To take advantage of the digital future, publishers are using the Internet to offer things that their magazine can’t, like instant feedback and connecting readers who share common interests. That’s how the two are working together.”
Needless to say, Shweiki is not nervous about the many main stream magazines that are going under in these hard economical times. According to online database Mediafinder, 47 magazine titles have folded so far in 2009 and more are on the rise.
Shweiki explains why this is: “The world has gone from buying mass to buying a mass of niches. The difference is that mass media is getting to be less relevant because people want what is more specific to their needs and they can get it on the Internet.
“There is a future for magazines because they have one great strength, they have not been commoditized. Magazines that target a specific market have a unique voice that reaches out to their readers, that voice has value. Even though these big publications are struggling, there is this huge growth of these niche publications, and that is what we specialize in.”
Although Shweiki Media also prints brochures, newsletters, catalogs, and postcards, they are primarily known for printing magazines. They currently print more than 100 different titles each month for publications all over the world, including many in San Antonio.
Shweiki didn’t start off with immediate success in his niche publication business; it took a lot of endurance and persistence to succeed as Shweiki Media. In 1984, while attending the University of Texas at Austin, Shweiki saw a need to create a guidebook for students that listed all the best places to hang out.
This guidebook was called The Student Guide to Austin. “It wasn’t a big financial success. I printed 10,000 copies and sold maybe 200, but I realized then that I loved publishing and that’s how I got started,” says Shweiki.
The setback didn’t deter Shweiki from trying to get a monthly entertainment publication for the students. In 1988 Shweiki began publishing Study Breaks magazine. It grew and from there Shweiki and his staff got involved with other publishers.
“In total we were working on five of our magazines and about five other magazines doing the prepress and design,” he says. “Then at the end of the month we would send it all to printers all over Texas, so I was thinking, ‘Why shouldn’t we just print these magazines ourselves’ and so I did the research and it seemed easy enough.”
In 1999, Shweiki grew his company into Shweiki Media when he purchased a five color Web printing press, the first of four presses he would purchase. Since he was in Austin at the time, he tried to find a building to put the press in, but none existed that met his specifications.
He eventually found a building in San Antonio and moved the company.
“It took some time for me to find some people to run (the printing press),” Shweiki says, “but I ended up finding some good pressman and it has grown from there.”
Shweiki Media recently purchased their fourth press, a Mitsubishi Diamond 16 MAX-S commercial heatset Web press from Mitsubishi. It is “brand new state-of-the-art, it’s literally the best press in the world,” says Shweiki, adding that the new press is scheduled to run for the first time on Nov. 16.
Shweiki Media has come a long way from a college entertainment magazine to a world class publication company: dependable and successful. The president considers himself lucky to be thriving in these very tough times and he credits the people who work for him.
“It is so rewarding for me to see these people who have passion and goals, and to see what we built together,” says Shweiki.
For any business it takes the right equipment, ideas and people, and Shweiki Media has all that and more.
“On time, every time” is the motto Shweiki and his team l ive by. They are committed professionals who back up their claims with action. All want what is best for their company and their clients.
David Reimherr, vice president of sales, describes Shweiki as a great visionary and a strong leader.
“(The Shweiki team) has a bigger picture of giving back to the community and Gal is a great leader for that ideal,” he says.
Reimherr has been with Shweiki Media since its conception about 11 years ago, and he also agrees with Shweiki that print still has a future, just a changing future.
“I believe that print has to be backed by the Web. Neither will be as effective without the other. You have to do both,” says Reimherr.
Shweiki is not only supported by his company, but he has people outside of the company, who inspire him to keep moving forward.
“My parents were very supportive and in their own right were very entrepreneurial,” says Shweiki.
Shweiki’s family moved from Jerusalem when Shweiki was 4 months old. He is inspired by their big step to move from what was comfortable to a new life in the United States. Shweiki is married to Lt. Col. Bonnie Hartstein, an ER doctor in the Army with two daughters.
“My wife,” says Shweiki, “she is amazing. “You know, she’s a woman, a doctor, and in the Army. Even when deployed, her attitude was never political. It was a sense of duty and accomplishment to help our wounded soldiers. Just being around her is very inspiring.”
