The document provides statistics and information about the magazine industry in the United States. It shows that the number of magazine readers in the US increased from 2012 to 2017, peaking at 225.2 million in 2017. It also provides data on the number of new magazine launches in 2017 by category, with special interest magazines seeing the most launches. Additionally, it lists the fastest growing magazine brands in the US in 2017 and the magazines with the largest mobile audiences and overall audiences in 2018.

1. Magazines: Lecture
NotesCOM 130

2. TheState
of the
Industry

3. Consmer behavior
210.7 214.1 215.7 216.5
221.9 225.2
0
50
100
150
200
250
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Numberofreadersinmillions
Note: United States; 2012 to 2017; 18 years and older; measured magazine titles excluding Sunday magazine and newspapers
Further information regarding this statistic can be found on on page 62 Source(s): GfK; I
31
Number of magazine readers in the United States from 2012 to 2017 (in millions)
Number of magazine readers in the U.S. 2012-2017

4. Meet Mr. Magazine,Samir Husni
 Professor Husni has tracked the new launches of magazines yearly for decades.
Check out his website to see how many magazine were launched each year.
 Mr. Magazine website
 The latest figures show that there were 7,176 magazines in circulation in the
United States in 2017. In the modern age, magazines are now available in printed
or electronic formats.As of 2018, the printed magazine industry remained popular
with consumers.

5. Overview
27
12
8
6
6
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Special interest
Regional
Crafts/games/hobbies
Automotive
Health/wellness
Cannabis
Comics
Arts
Black/ethnic
Fashion
Literary
Travel
Food
Home
Music
Number of new magazines
Note: United States; 2017
Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 41.
Source(s): MPA; Mr. Magazine; ID 238598
7
Number of magazines launched in the United States in 2017, by category
Magazine launches in the U.S. in 2017, by category

6. Market leaders
39%
34.4%
24.5%
23.6%
22.1%
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0% 45.0%
Entrepeneur
Town & Country
Popular Science
W
Veranda
Year-on-year audience growth rate
Note: United States; 2017; includes consumers of print and digital editions, desktop/laptop unique visitors to websites, mobile unique visitors to websites and video unique
viewers
Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 51.
Source(s): MPA; GfK; Ipsos; comScore; Nielsen; MarketingCharts; ID 475090
18
Fastest growing magazine brands in the United States in 2017
Fastest growing magazine brands in the U.S. 2017
Market leaders
50.92
41.89
35.42
31.34
22.53
16.43
16.29
15.2
14.88
13.69
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
ESPN The Magazine
People
WebMD Magazine
Allrecipes
New York Magazine
Time
Cosmopolitan
Us Weekly
The Atlantic
Good Housekeeping
Number of unique visitors in millions
Note: United States; September 2018; 18 years and older; iOS and Android
Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 53.
Source(s): MPA; comScore; ID 208813
20
Number of unique mobile visitors to websites of select U.S. magazines brands in September 2018 (in
millions)
Magazines with largest mobile audience in the U.S. 2018

7. History of
Magazines
In Europe:
• The Review, the first political
magazine appeared in London in
1704
• Edited by Daniel Defoe, Printed
sporadically until 1713
Other magazines from this
time
• Tatler, Spectator, Gentleman’s
Magazine
In America:
1741: Andrew Bradford
published American
Magazine.
A few days later, Ben
Franklin published General
Magazine . Both failed (63
percent of all new
magazines fail to survive
their first year)

8. U.S.
Magazines
In 1776 there were about
100 magazines
Growth of the magazine
industry was slow after the
revolution.
High delivery costs
Still, most communities
had their own weekly
magazine by 1825.
Harper’s Monthly launched
in 1850 and is still published
today.
In 1860, there were 260
magazines.
Ladies Home Journal was
launched in 1881. Most
were general interest—
wide content publications.

9. 19th Century
Magazines
In 1900, there were 1,800
magazines!Why the
boom?The PostalAct of
1879 gave them special
cheaper mailing rates.
Specialized magazines
emerged.
• Religious, literary, and
professional
First general-interest
magazine
• Saturday Evening Post
Magazines changed
during the period
between WW1 and
WW11. We have the
emergence of
1) digests. Reader’s
Digest appeared in 1922.
2) news magazine.Time,
Newsweek, U.S News &
World Report,The
Economist

10. Development
of Modern
American
Magazines
• Improved literacy, public education
• Better printing, postal technology
Growth of the
magazine market with
national, women’s and
illustrated magazines
because of
• Used magazines to capture
attention and build a national
marketplace
Advertisers
• First with a circulation of one
million
Ladies’ HomeJournal

11. Social Reform
and the
Muckrakers
General interest magazines. Saturday Evening Post, Reader’s Digest,Time, Life
Prominent afterWWI through
the 1950s
Combined investigative
journalism with broad national
topics
Photojournalism gave
magazines a visual advantage
over radio
Muckrakers
Investigative journalists
Raised awareness, leading to the Pure Food and
Drug Act, the Meat Inspection Act, and antitrust
laws
Rise in circulation coincided with rapid social changes.
Magazines allowed journalists to write in depth about issues.

12. Fall of
General-
Interest
Magazines
• Changing consumer tastes, rising postal costs, falling ad revenues,
and television
Began in the late
1950s
• Highlighted interest in specialized magazines
• Growing power of checkout lines
• Growing power of television
TV Guide
• Sold issues at a loss to maintain circulation figures
• Ad dollars split with television
• Increased postal rates
Saturday Evening
Post, Life, and Look
fold
• Launched in 1974
• First successful magazine of its kind in decades
• Some charge that People is too specialized to be mass market, with
its focus on celebrities, music, and pop culture.
People

13. Market leaders
23.14
22.7
8.74
7.65
6.35
4.9
4.32
4.06
3.42
3.28
0 5 10 15 20 25
AARP The Magazine
AARP Bulletin
Costco Connection
Better Homes and Gardens
Game Informer
AAA Living
Good Housekeeping
Family Circle
People
Woman's Day
Circulation in millions
Publication
Note: United States; January to June 2017; paid and non-paid circulation / only audited magazines
Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 48.
Source(s): AAM; ID 239631
15
Leading U.S. consumer magazines in 1st half 2017, by circulation (in millions)
Leading U.S. magazines H1 2017, by circulation

14. Market leaders
129
91.16
57.36
50.48
46.98
42.7
40.7
36.73
36.6
36.43
34.73
31.31
28.61
27.22
27.1
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
ESPN The Magazine
People
WebMD
Allrecipes
AARP
Time
Better Homes and Gardens
National Geographic
Good Housekeeping
Cosmopolitan
Sports Illustrated
New York Magazine
Taste of Home
Us Weekly
Bon Appétit
Audience in millions
Note: United States; September 2018; 18 years and older; includes print and digital editions, web (desktop and laptop), mobile web and video
Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 49.
Source(s): MPA; comScore; GfK; Nielsen; ID 208807
16
Reach of popular magazines in the United States in September 2018 (in millions)
Magazines with largest audience in the U.S. 2018

15. Market leaders
3.5
2.11
1.1
1.02
0.95 0.95 0.91
0.75 0.75
0.66
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Scholastic News FamilyFun Time For Kids:
News Scoop
Teen VOGUE My Quince National
Geographic Kids
Boys` Life Scholastic Scope Time For Kids: The
Big Picture
Sports Illustrated
Kids
Circulationinmillions
Note: United States; October 2017
Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 50.
Source(s): Cision; ID 759346
17
Most popular children's magazines in the United States as of October 2017, by circulation (in
millions)
Most popular children's magazines in the U.S. October 2017

16. Market leaders
39%
34.4%
24.5%
23.6%
22.1%
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0% 45.0%
Entrepeneur
Town & Country
Popular Science
W
Veranda
Year-on-year audience growth rate
Note: United States; 2017; includes consumers of print and digital editions, desktop/laptop unique visitors to websites, mobile unique visitors to websites and video unique
viewers
Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 51.
Source(s): MPA; GfK; Ipsos; comScore; Nielsen; MarketingCharts; ID 475090
18
Fastest growing magazine brands in the United States in 2017
Fastest growing magazine brands in the U.S. 2017

17. Convergence:
Magazines
Confront the
DigitalAge
Magazines moved
online.
• Magazine
companionWeb
sites ideal for
increasing reach of
consumer
magazines
• Feature original
content
Magazines embrace
digital content.
• Webzines made the
Internet a legitimate
site for breaking
news and discussing
culture and politics.
Magazines grouped
by two important
characteristics
• Advertiser type
(consumer, business
or trade, farm
• Target
demographics:
Gender, age, or
ethnic group and
audience interest
area (sports,
literature, tabloids)

18. Magazine
Departments
• Publisher, editor-in-chief, managing editors, and subeditors
• Subeditors oversee photography, illustrations, reporting and
writing, copyediting, layout, and print and multimedia design
Editorial
• Maintains computer and printing hardware
Production and
technology
• Secures clients, arranges promotions, and places ads
• Rate cards indicate ad sizes/prices
Advertising
and sales
• Monitors single-copy and subscription sales
• Subscriptions may be paid, evergreen, controlled, or digital
Circulation and
distribution

19. Challenges for
Magazines
 Newsstand circulation is
declining.
 Access points and
technologies are changing
 Some note a lack of diversity
 Readers are seeking free
content on digital versions
 Mergers and acquisitions
changes roles and titles
 Changes in audience buying
and changes in how
consumers access news

20. Overview
4.9
2
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
2007 2017
RevenueinbillionU.S.dollars
Note: United States; 2007 and 2017; figures are estimates
Further information regarding this statistic can be found on page 46.
Source(s): Various sources (The News Group); Forbes; ID 530735
12
Revenue from magazine newsstand sales in United States in 2007 and 2017 (in billion U.S.
dollars)
Magazine retail sales revenue in the U.S. 2007-2017

21. References
 Campbell, Martin, and Fabos. (2014). Media & Culture: Mass Communication in a
DigitalAge. 10th edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
 Magazine Industry in the U. S. (2017). Study ID12973. Statista
 Magazine Media Factbook 2016/2017. (2016). MPAThe Association of Magazine
Media.