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More than a magazine

17 December 2024

Health and Safety Matters is celebrating its 25th anniversary, so Kelly Rose takes a look at the history of the magazine and how the brand has developed over the last quarter of a century. We are now so much more than a magazine.

WHEN HEALTH and Safety Matters (HSM) magazine was launched some 25 years ago, the magazine was published by Western Business Publishing. Neil Western, the owner of the business took this magazine from strength to strength and upon his retirement in 2018, the Nineteen Group acquired Western Business Publishing, which included HSM and the Health & Safety Event.

A year later, Mark Sennett, Danny Kosifou and Keith Gabriel successfully completed a management buy-out of eight magazines, digital platforms and the Safety and Health Excellence Awards and Western Business Media was born. 

Since its inception, HSM has been a prominent source of news, case studies, regulations, and product information in the occupational health and safety sector and is one of the longest-standing publications in the market.

Like most trade publications, when HSM was launched reader enquiry cards were commonplace in magazines. This method of gauging reader interest is quite different to what we have today, reflecting the media landscape of the pre-digital and early digital age. The internet has significantly transformed the arena for B2B magazines and has enabled easier communication with our readers through email and social media platforms. The internet has also expanded our reach as we can share the magazine digitally. While many magazines have opted to cease print publications, we continue to publish a hard copy, as we feel this is what readers in our industry want. 

In addition to its print and online presence, HSM engages with its audience through various channels, including webinars and events.

Our move to digital events really ramped up during lockdown with a series of webinars and online conferences. Our webinars continue to be a phenomenal success and we boast an average attendance rate of 1,400. Attendees receive a CPD certificate 

We had such success with our digital conferences, but we knew there was a high demand to create in-person content, so last year we launched the first of our HSM Live series in Scotland and we also hold one in Coventry too. This conference series also has a table top exhibition and these one day events are proving very popular. Having just held our second Scottish instalment, we are delighted with the growth in visitors and exhibitors alike.

Georgina Bisby edited HSM from 2008- 2014, and we asked for her thoughts on the HSM brand. She said, “Many people underestimate the breadth of knowledge required by a health and safety manager or appreciate the true challenges of the job, which is where HSM has found success. 

“There were, and are, plenty of health and safety publications out there but HSM provides a huge volume of information in an accessible way and its focus on new technology and the application of this technology is second-to-none. 

“Another one of HSM’s great strengths has been its independence. While there have been strategic partnerships with organisations such as the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF), HSM has never been answerable to a single organisation. Consequently, the magazine hasn’t been distracted or compromised by politics and the editors have had the freedom to focus on what the magazine does best; helping to protect people.”

HSM serves as the official journal for the BSIF, reinforcing its position as an independent and authoritative voice in the health and safety industry and we publish the Federation’s annual BSIF Guide and in 2021 Western Business Media and the BSIF won Commercial Partnership of the Year for its annual BSIF Guide at the PPA Independent Publisher & Conference Awards.

HSM's longstanding commitment to delivering comprehensive coverage of the health and safety sector underscores its significant role in the industry and we are not resting on our laurels. Next year we will be bringing you Ignite CPD, which is a streaming site where you will be able to find and search all our webinars, conferences and other exclusive content. 

You will be able to get a personalised CPD certificate for every video you watch and there will be over 300 hours of content with 170+ hours of new content added every year.

We look forward to bringing you this service to you in the New Year and to continue strengthening the HSM brand.

Kelly Rose is editor of Health and Safety Matters. For more information, visit www.hsmsearch.com

 
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