How the Venerable Atlantic Changed for the Digital Age

The Atlantic, an issues-oriented magazine that was founded 153 years and in recent years has been a consistent money loser, is on track to turn a tidy profit of $1.8 million this year. Jeremy Peters of The New York Times suggests that the reason the magazine has turned itself around relates to a decision of its young management to attach their property to the web enthusiastically at a time when major magazine firms were still wary about hurting their print product. So, for example, in a move rare in the magazine industry the publisher told the advertising sales staff that it did not matter whether they sold ads for the digital or printed edition.

The Atlantic reduced its staff and made other monetary accommodations that are allowing it to prosper in the digital world. Moreover, Peters notes that this periodical with less than half a million circulation and an entire business and editorial staff of about one hundred can break even at levels lower than the big magazines produced by the likes of Time and Conde Nast. Nevertheless, the developments point to the activities periodicals must consider to survive in the new media environment.

From Jeremy W. Peters, "Web Focus Helps Revitalize the Atlantic," New York Times, December 12, 2010. Thanks for Scott Weiss of St. Francis College for suggesting this piece for the blog.

Hearst Magazine Sings Online

The Jango partnership is the first step in a larger strategy that will add more entertainment-focused content to all the Hearst Digital sites, which in turn creates compelling opportunities for advertisers to participate.

-Chris Johnson, Hearst Digital vice president of content and business development

Johnson is reflecting on Hearst magazines' announcement of a partnership with social music website Jango to place music widgets on Seventeen.com and brand them with both the Hearst and Jango names. "Seventeen will allow readers to create personal online “radio stations” featuring songs from their favorite musicians. They can listen to the music directly at Seventeen.com and can share their stations, also called Celebrity DJ Jukeboxes, with other readers over a social networking application." The activity demonstrates how magazines are changing from their static paper incarnations to become active lifestyle centers and tools for their audiences and advertisers. To Ann Shoket, Seventeen's editor-in-chief, the music-widget application “helps the Seventeen brand live beyond the pages of the magazine. . . ." Johnson adds that this sort of entertainment-focused content "creates compelling opportunities for advertisers to participate."

In Jason Fell, "Hearst Launches Widgets for Seventeen," Folio, May 5, 2008

Ad Inserts Help Magazines Compete with Web

For us, it’s be clever or die.

-Peter King Hunsinger, publisher of the magazine GQ

He was referring to "blinking lights, pop-up ads, kiss-on lipstick samples, scratch-off scents, melt-in-your-mouth taste strips and even pocket squares, [that] advertisers are stuffing magazines full of . . . to make their advertisements stand out."

In Stephanie Clifford, "More Bells, Whistles and Packets of All Sorts," The New York Times, April 22, 2008.