Navigating the Digital Magazine Landscape: Malaysian Editors’ Perspectives on Strategic Tools and Young Readers Loyalty Behaviors

Abstract Book of the 11th International Conference on Research in Social Sciences

Year: 2026

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Navigating the Digital Magazine Landscape: Malaysian Editors’ Perspectives on Strategic Tools and Young Readers Loyalty Behaviors

Adriana Syaurah Binti Mohd Suhaimi, SHIFA BINTI FAIZAL

ABSTRACT:

This study examines the editorial tactics utilized by Malaysian editors to maintain loyalty
among Generation Z readers aged 14 to 29 years old in digital magazines. The study
examines the pressing issue of diminishing print media readership and the transition to social
media and digital platforms, which require adaptive gatekeeping functions and inventive
interaction tactics. The research specifically investigates the digital platforms and
technologies employed by editors, their views on effective loyalty-building techniques, and
their navigation of the changing digital magazine environment. The paper will use
Gatekeeping Theory as the main theory and a few other concepts as support in the context of
news decision-making, motivations for the news audience, and loyalty building in the online
context.
The research proposes to decipher how the Malaysian news editors apply digital tools and
platforms to improve reader engagements and retain the young readers they serve. The
expected outcomes of this study would involve the identification of gatekeeping approaches,
editorial strategies to focus on the target readers, as well as the challenges news editors face
while balancing content value and algorithmic demands.
These research findings will provide necessary input to all media managers and editors in
Malaysia because they will provide helpful recommendations on how to extend the support of
readers to magazine subscriptions. The research will make an ideal contribution to the
understanding of the transformation of the role of editors in the new digital world.

Keywords: Digital Magazines, Editorial Strategies, Reader Loyalty, Generation Z, Subscription Monetization