The Not-So-Glossy Future of Magazines
- 7 years ago
The Not-So-Glossy Future of Magazines
A new iteration of a streaming video network that the company introduced last year, PeopleTV will feature
pop culture programming in conjunction with Entertainment Weekly, another Time Inc. title.
Kurt Andersen, a former editor of New York and, with Mr. Carter, a founder of Spy magazine, said
that print magazines were still breathing, but that the recent upheaval was a sign that the denouement might not be far off.
It could have been a scene from the Jazz Age heyday of the Manhattan magazine set — or even the 1990s, when glossy monthlies still soaked up millions of dollars in advertising revenue,
and editors in chauffeured town cars told the nation what to wear, what to watch and who to read.
“Sentimentality is probably the biggest enemy for the magazine business,” David Carey, the president of Hearst Magazines, said in an interview.
Still, Meredith reported a slight drop in revenue for its magazine business in its most recent fiscal year, which ended in June.
But as the executive leading Hearst’s magazine business into an uncertain future, Mr. Carey said
that he was focused on identifying new ways to increase revenue and trim expenses.
Although the print business still accounts for roughly two-thirds of Time Inc.’s $3 billion
in annual revenue, the company is shifting resources to video and television.
“The 1920s to the 2020s was kind of the century of the magazine,” he said, noting
that The New Yorker and Time were founded in the decade before the Great Depression.
A new iteration of a streaming video network that the company introduced last year, PeopleTV will feature
pop culture programming in conjunction with Entertainment Weekly, another Time Inc. title.
Kurt Andersen, a former editor of New York and, with Mr. Carter, a founder of Spy magazine, said
that print magazines were still breathing, but that the recent upheaval was a sign that the denouement might not be far off.
It could have been a scene from the Jazz Age heyday of the Manhattan magazine set — or even the 1990s, when glossy monthlies still soaked up millions of dollars in advertising revenue,
and editors in chauffeured town cars told the nation what to wear, what to watch and who to read.
“Sentimentality is probably the biggest enemy for the magazine business,” David Carey, the president of Hearst Magazines, said in an interview.
Still, Meredith reported a slight drop in revenue for its magazine business in its most recent fiscal year, which ended in June.
But as the executive leading Hearst’s magazine business into an uncertain future, Mr. Carey said
that he was focused on identifying new ways to increase revenue and trim expenses.
Although the print business still accounts for roughly two-thirds of Time Inc.’s $3 billion
in annual revenue, the company is shifting resources to video and television.
“The 1920s to the 2020s was kind of the century of the magazine,” he said, noting
that The New Yorker and Time were founded in the decade before the Great Depression.