Faced with increasingly steep declines in their core print businesses and potential softness in two of their two main growth areas—online and live events (thanks to an economic downturn that doesn’t seem to be sparing any one select category)—publishers are faced with yielding to the instinct to “duck and cover” for the duration of the downturn, hoping to peek out of their holes when conditions have improved, or use this as an opportunity to put their businesses on the right path.

The following six pages are dedicated to 10 leading publishing executives outlining their Big Idea—the strategic initiatives they are betting on to drive their businesses for the near future. We wanted to know what two or three big, strategic priorities these top executives are communicating to the enterprise—and how they’re marshalling their resources to get the job done. We’ve also asked them to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that surround those ideas.

In the profiles that follow, you’ll find some of the same issues you face as well as some creative solutions.

THE NEXT BIG IDEA 

John Suhler [0]
Founding Partner, Veronis Suhler Stevenson

Wenda Harris Millard [0]
Co-CEO, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Dennis McKenna [0]
CEO, e.Republic

David Granger [0]
Editor-in-Chief, Esquire

Michael Friedenberg [0]
President and CEO, CXO Media

Evan Hansen [0]
Editor-in-Chief, Wired.com

Jonathan Weber [0]
Founder, Publisher and CEO, New West Publishing

Harry McCracken [0]
Founder and Editor, Technologizer.com

Michael Silberman [0]
General Manager, Digital Media, New York Media

David Pecker [0]
CEO, American Media