不论用何种标准来衡量，Time Out杂志的老板，托尼•艾略特的事业都可称得上是春风得意。34年前，托尼以一件75英磅的生日礼物起家，至今已成为年收入逾3000万英磅的富豪。最近他以个人固定资产8000万英磅的身家，被收入了《泰晤士周日》的首富名单。
但是，娱乐杂志正面临着越来越激烈的竞争。一些报纸开始出版关于娱乐的免费副刊，比如《晚间报道》的《热讯》，《卫报》的《指南》，还有互联网也夺去了很多读者。Time Out 周销售量的最高记录是10.8万份，可是现在已经下滑到8.4万份。去年他们又将杂志的价格从1.95镑升至2.20镑，这无疑是雪上加霜。
这周三，改版后的Time Out杂志将全新登场。有海报和广播广告的助阵，他们希望能力挽发行量下滑的局面。“我们想做的就是能巩固现在的销售量然后继续增长。我甚至希望我们的销量能回到10万份。”艾略特说。改版之后的Time Out变化并不太大，不过读起来更亲切了。杂志的整体风格看上去更像纽约的Time Out（艾略特拥有这本刊物的一半的股份，目前的销售量是12万份）。为了强调杂志的出版地，封面上加了伦敦Time Out的标志。同时杂志的尺寸比过去少了10％，以体现轻便的风格。
新闻板块，这个艾略特并不看好的部分还将继续保留，内容仍然是新闻特写和采访。在纽约非常流行的读者信息服务将在新版本中大肆应用。用彩色条码区分栏目的做法也会在新版本中见到。
艾略特依然对信息依然保持着以往的热情。经过一次失败的努力，他决定不在扩大Time Out在英国的销量上再作纠缠。他要把更多的精力放到开发海外市场上。在伦敦和纽约注册的Time Out 已经可以在赛浦路斯、伊斯坦布、Dubai和Abu Dhabi看到。 不久的将来，在也会出现它的身影。艾略特还把目光投向悉尼。由企鹅出版社出版的Time Out城市指南，为艾略特的公司赚了700万的利润。
艾略特似乎属于那种很容易知足的企业家，对继续扩大自己事业也没什么兴趣。“从来没有让我心动的出价，从没遇到过”现年55岁的艾略特如实说。“我可不想经营什么汽车或音像杂志，别跟我说这样的事情”。
听上去，艾略特好像完全依赖于各种各样的市井消息。现在他必须依靠改版来坚守发行量的阵地，以不至于在激烈的竞争中落败。他说“那些真正关心新闻和文化的严肃性的读者会意识到，在这方面我们做得最好，而我从没怀疑过我们是最好的。”
中华传媒网编译
Listing, but not sunk yet
BY RAYMOND SNODDY
By any standards Tony Elliott, the owner of Time Out magazine, has had a good run. Launched with the help of a £75 birthday present from an aunt nearly 34 years ago, his business has an annual turnover of more than £30 million.
Recently he appeared in The Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated personal fortune of £80 million.
However, the entertainment and events magazine is facing increasing competition from free offerings such as Hot Tickets in the Evening Standard and The Guide in The Guardian; the Internet is also nibbling away. Weekly sales of Time Out peaked at 108,000 and have been declining gently to a current 84,000. A price rise from £1.95 to £2.20 last year didn’t help.
On Wednesday Elliott will launch Time Out’s first comprehensive redesign, backed by a poster and radio advertising campaign to try to stem the circulation loss. “What we hope to do is stabilize the circulation and then build. I rather naively think we really can get back to 100,000,” he says. The changes are gentle rather than radical, and are designed mainly to make all that information seem less daunting and easier to use. Rather like Time Out New York, half-owned by Elliott and selling 120,000, the front-page logo will have the word London added to emphasise its origins. At the same time the format of the magazine will be reduced in size by about 10 per cent to make it appear more portable.