March 8, 2005

Mass vs. Class Magazine Trend

The two types of magazines American publishers seem to be most excited about at the moment have about as much in common as the red states and the blue ones. On the one hand they’re hot for controlled-circulation luxury mags targeted at only the very richest (if you’re not making a half mil a year you probably can’t even buy one), as reported in this Monday NYT article.

But they’re also obsessed with reaching the Walmart crowd, using low-priced, totally unpretentious magazines aimed at busy moms who probably find the ideas in Martha and Real Simple too darn expensive. Time Inc. is publishing a down to earth women’s title called All You to be sold exclusively in Walmart, Hachette is doing a similar one called For Me, and Hearst just announced it will launch a cheapo weekly called Quick & Simple. Read more at Ad Age.

All of which can lead those of us who neither make $500k a year nor ever set foot in a Walmart wonder if there will soon be no magazines left for us. One of the most general-interest magazines out there, Vanity Fair, is struggling with sagging newsstand numbers. Their attempted solution? Eastern european models in bikinis (obviously).