Select market for single issue publication

Tuesday, 29 October, 2002 - 21:00
A NEW publication that aims to cater for the ‘forgotten’ singles aged 35 and above has hit Perth newsstands.

Singles Issues is the brainchild of Impressions Corporate Public Relations’ Ron Berryman.

He said the publication was designed to deal with a lot of the issues that faced single people.

“It’s more of an advice publication,” Mr Berryman said.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures from 1996, more than four million Australians aged between 35 and 54 did not have a partner.

Mr Berryman – himself part of the singles demographic – said he had been looking for a new challenge and the publication presented itself as a good opportunity.

He said he had a background in print journalism and his company had been producing the Rally Australia programs for some time.

“I was looking to something different yet something I had some experience in,” Mr Berryman said.

“The second issue will change considerably in look. We had the usual new publication teething problems, such as people not sending in their copy on time and leaving us without much time to change things around.

“The advertising take-up has been slow but you have to gain credibility and get onto people’s advertising rosters.”

The first issue of Singles Issues covers a wide range of topics, including how separations affected men and the emotional issues facing women aged 40 and over.

“The idea is to tackle serious topics that are relevant to single adults as well as deal with the lighter side of life,” Mr Berryman said.