The news that one of the western world’s most iconic brands, ‘Borders’ had quietly slipped into global administration in the wake of rising prices and the proliferation of online bookstores took many by surprise.

But the enormity of the revelation only hit home to most when its benchmark Melbourne store in South Yarra announced it would close its doors within the month.

And while book lovers Australia-wide are mourning the loss of what has been an established way of life for many years, it begs the question, what does this mean for magazines?

What will become of that obscure little mag that most newsagents had never heard of yet could always be found at trusty Borders?

And more importantly for PRs, how will the readers of those obscure little mags that are about to become a whole lot harder to find, be reached?

Many media professionals have been lamenting the steadily decreasing circulation figures across most magazines and printed newspapers in recent times, and of course, with less of your target demographic reading magazines, your message struggles to reach its intended audience through traditional forums.

So where to from here?

It’s a no brainer that we need to embrace the digital frontier, staying on top of the growing number of opportunities that now exist in cyber-space, forever searching for new and interesting ways to engage your audience through the ever-increasing independent and underground websites, e-newsletters and e-zines.

But what of those who WON’T seek solace online for their hard-to-find industry publications and their niche magazines, not in our lifetime anyway.

How will PRs ensure these hard-to-reach individuals will still be exposed to your client’s product or message?

PRs will have to break through the clutter, finding new ways to target key audiences that are both innovative and unique.

Harnessing the power of the traditional/new media cross-over that we are starting to see more and more, creating interesting and engaging web content that, given the right environment and just a weeny bit of luck, will go viral to make it to your TV news screens that evening.

In the meantime, it will be months, maybe even years before we can understand the extent of the void that Borders will leave behind.

I know I for one will miss thumbing through the pages of the endless books and magazines while killing some time at Borders….no matter how hard I try, staring down the barrel of a computer screen is never quite the same.