Blog Magazine

Recession Survial: Indie Magazines Combine Efforts

Independent shelter magazine Dwell is partnering with other indie magazines to keep costs down, share best practices and gain buying power with vendors. Dwell magazine has already established business partnerships with just-launched travel magazine Afar;and is talks with Kitchen Trends and Bathroom Trends, published by New Zealand-based publisher Trends.

Since launching as a modern design magazine in 2000, Dwell has developed other ways to deal with the current ad-page crunch, most recently due to the housing market collapse. The magazine has expanded to include a home furnishings show and a line of Dwell-branded homes.In addition, Dwell has launched "Make It Yours," the first of a pair of special-interest, newsstand only publications, on stands now.

But Dwell magazine isn't the only title partnering with other magazines. Fast Company magazine recently started exchanging circulation-promotion ads with other magazines like Financial Times and Paper. According to Mediaweek's report, Christine Osekoski, Fast Co.’s publisher, said "the barter ads enable brands like hers without big companies behind them to help each other out."

Athletes Pose Sans Their Uniforms in 'Body Issue'

For its first-ever 'Body Issue,' ESPN The Magazine recruited more than 30 male and female athletes to pose nude or semi-nude. If you're thinking ESPN The Magazine is taking a stab at its rival Sports Illustrated magazine's annual Swimsuit Issue, you're right.

Among the athletes featured in the buff (note: certain body parts are artfully obscured) or semi-buff are Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and professional surfer Claire Bevilacqua. A wide range of athletes from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, LPGA and UFC appear in the 'Body Issue,' which will hit newsstands Oct. 9.

What is the Fate of Ebony Magazine?

According to Newsweek magazine, Johnson Publishing is looking for a buyer or investor for its flagship title, Ebony magazine, the U.S.'s oldest African-American magazine.

The late John H. Johnson first published Ebony magazine in 1945 after starting his publishing company with $500. He became the first African-American on the Forbes magazine "Richest Americans" list and garnered  many prestigious awards and recognition in his long career including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which he received in 1995. Then President Bill Clinton said Johnson gave "African-Americans a voice and a face, a new sense of 'somebody-ness,' of who they were and what they could do, at a time when they were virtually invisible in mainstream American culture."

John H. Johnson died in 2005 at the age of 87; his daughter, Linda Johnson Rice is the current chairman and CEO.

Katie Couric to Write Column for Glamour Magazine

Folio magazine reports Katie Couric will write a monthly column for Glamour magazine. Each month, Katie Couric will write a Q+A on a person who she thinks is inspiring to women and girls. For her first column, which will be featured in the December issue, she will interview First Lady Michelle Obama.

Life Magazines Available on Google Books

Yesterday Life Inc. announced that more than 1,860 issues from 1936-1972 from their archive are now available online through Google Books. Readers can search and view full content.

"LIFE magazine was there for every historical event, cultural shift, and pop culture occurrence," said Andrew Blau, Life Inc. President in a press release. "From our first issue in 1936 featuring President Franklin Roosevelt's work relief project to coverage of Apollo 11, Marilyn Monroe, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, the Beatles, the beehive and everything in between. Every day we receive requests from readers looking for these issues for research purposes, and to find photos and articles featuring family members, hometowns and other memories. Now with these full issues available online, readers will be able to browse through history as it was being recorded."

Family Circle Magazine Makes Ad Deal with Ikea

Starting in October, Ikea will offer free cooking seminars as a part of an ad deal with Family Circle magazine, which is presenting the tour with Food University, a culinary events company. The five-city tour, called Food University Presented by Family Circle, kicks off in Seattle and features chefs demonstrating recipes from the magazine. Ikea has committed to ad pages in the magazine, though Family Circle magazine would not say how many.

Domino Magazine Alums Launch Online Magazine

Michelle Adams, former Domino magazine editor, and partner Patrick Cline are launching the first issue of Lonny, to help fill the void that Domino left. The magazine's name is London+New York=Lonny. The first issue, which will debut on Oct. 1, will feature former Domino magazine editor-in-chief Deborah Needleman in her garden and Kate Townsend Simpson, another Domino alum, on the cover.

Magazine News Round-Up

The fate of BusinessWeek magazine is still uncertain but a spokesman for the business magazine's parent company McGraw-Hill said the company was “very pleased with the meaningful interest” the magazine. Among the bidders are Bloomberg and OpenGate Capital, which owns TV Guide magazine.

This year's Best Actress winner, Kate Winslet, earned the recognition as one of People magazine's "Best Dressed" celebrities last week. The annual special double issue that of course also includes the "Worst Dressed" hit stands Friday.

Magazines.com Adds Imbibe Magazine to Selection

Imbibe magazine "The magazine of liquid culture" is now available at Magazines.com. Imbibe magazine was one of 2006's "30 Most Notable Magazine Launches," a list that included several already-shuttered magazines like Blueprint and Wonder Time.

We read the July/August issue of Imbibe that focused on "perfect summer drinks," and found a variety of beverages featured--beer, wine, tea and lemonade--just as the magazine's website promised. The recipe index includes 21 recipes. The types of articles are varied as well, with a feature on a sugarcane spirit's relationship to Brazilian social status, a profile on a winemaker and recommendations for ice crushers.

For its September/October issue Imbibe magazine names its top 100 beers in the world.

Every Day with Rachael Ray Magazine Offers Discounts on Groceries

Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine is once again taking an integrated advertising approach with grocery stores.

With an advertorial promoting it in the October issue, the food magazine has partnered with Modiv's Scan It! an in-store promotion company to give shoppers discounts on groceries from popular brands like Purina, Uncle Ben’s and Arm & Hammer.

The grocery item offers will be available in October at 258 Stop & Shop and Giant supermarkets in the Northeast for shoppers who use Scan It!. Shoppers that buy the promoted groceries will receive a Snow & Graham stationary gift from Every Day with Rachael Ray when they send in the receipt to the magazine.