Building Media That Endures, The Mr. Magazine™ Interview
Editor’s Note: In this Mr. Magazine™ interview, legendary magazine designer Roger Black reflects on what it really takes to build media that lasts, from knowing your reader to respecting attention and staying grounded in human storytelling, even as platforms and technology keep changing.
At a moment when media feels unsettled, fragmented and constantly in flux, Roger Black’s career offers something both grounding and reassuring. He has seen this movie before. In fact, he was living it more than 50 years ago.
In 1970, while still a student at the University of Chicago, Black launched a magazine called AMERIKA, later renamed PRINT PROJECT AMERIKA. The timing was anything but easy. The country was polarized, the economy was shaky and magazines were already under pressure. Black even wrote at the time that it was “a hard time to start a magazine,” noting a nation “shaking like an old drunk.” It’s hard not to hear echoes of today in those words.
What’s striking is not just that Black was experimenting so early, but that he’s still doing it now. More than five decades later, he’s back working on a weekly newspaper, helping publish the Big Bend Sentinel in West Texas, while also championing typography and independent publishing through Type Network. For communicators and creators trying to make sense of where media goes next, his perspective feels unusually relevant.
When Black talks about media, he always comes back to the same starting point. The reader. If someone tells him they want to launch a new magazine or media product, his first question is simple. Who is it for? Have you talked to them? He’s quick to point out that many media ventures get into trouble when they forget that communication is a two-way street. Reading is interactive. It requires curiosity, trust and a genuine connection. That lesson applies just as much to newsletters, podcasts and brand storytelling as it does to print.
Black is also refreshingly clear-eyed about format. He doesn’t argue that print should replace digital or that one medium is superior to another. Instead, he focuses on how people actually experience content. One of the things print still does well, he notes, is give readers a sense of completion. You finish the issue. You close the book. There’s satisfaction in that, especially at a time when endless scrolling leaves people feeling overstimulated and oddly unfulfilled. For creators, it’s a reminder that audiences don’t just want more content. They want better experiences.
That thinking extends to his view of print’s future. Black doesn’t see print as dead. He sees it as more intentional. Mass circulation magazines may be gone, but niche publications, local newspapers and special-interest titles are finding their footing because they offer something digital platforms often don’t: focus, trust and a break from the noise. The same is happening with bookstores and libraries, even in small towns. People still value the physical act of reading when it feels purposeful.
What also stands out in Black’s early work is how much was accomplished with very little. AMERIKA didn’t have big budgets or large teams. Constraints forced creativity. Interviews became first-person narratives. Contributors supplied what they could. Design and editorial worked closely together. It’s a model that feels surprisingly modern, especially for today’s creators working with lean teams and limited resources. Black’s experience is a reminder that waiting for perfect conditions is often the fastest way to never start.
Throughout the conversation, Black keeps returning to one core truth. Media is about people. You start with the reader, then you tell stories about other people in a way that feels human, readable and honest. That idea feels especially important now, as AI reshapes how content is created and distributed. Tools may speed things up, but they don’t replace judgment, empathy or curiosity. The creators who last will be the ones who use technology to support storytelling, not replace it.
Perhaps the most revealing moment comes when Black is asked why he’s still doing this work. His answer is simple. He can’t imagine doing anything else. Typography, publishing and helping connect ideas to audiences still give him energy. That sense of alignment may be his most important lesson of all. In an industry defined by constant change, loving the work makes adaptation possible.
For communicators navigating today’s uncertainty, Roger Black’s career offers a steady through line. Know your audience. Respect attention. Design with intention. Tell human stories. Adapt without losing your center. In an urgent moment for media, those lessons feel as relevant as ever.
