‘The general public doesn’t understand the appetite women in America have today for all things politics, digitally’ (Samantha Barry in Business of Fashion, 2018)
Samantha Barry has been remediating Glamour magazine by taking advantage of her digital expertise to update the magazine into the digital age. Since women’s magazines are struggling to maintain their print circulations due to the fall of newsstand sales (Griffin,2018), Barry found the digital age to be an evolution for magazines through digital platform engagement in American politics.
Since the elections in 2016, interest in politics has increased for Americans, along with the demand for more news therefore more talk on digital platforms. The US magazine publishing industry is estimated to grow their digital circulation revenue in 2020 by 3.6% whereas print advertising sales are estimated to fall 14.5% in 2018 alone. This rate is expected to decrease another 20% in 2020. (Griffin,2018). This is something Glamour magazine will not sit on. Historically speaking, magazines have been most progressive in reaching women. Moving forward, digital magazines show most progression for young females (Griffin,2018). Glamour has prioritised their coverage of political news because of the popularity of women’s digital movement of politics.
According to Barry, digital editions are the way forward for the magazine publishing industry. Exemplified through women’s magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire, circulations have increased through their decision to cover political issues such as reproductive and sexual harassment rights (Griffin,2018). Since young women rely on media platforms such as social media to engage in politics, this tells publishers and editors what to include in magazines due to level of engagement. Hodgkin (2018) interviews Oaklin Reed who gives an insight to the current state of magazine publishing. Reed states the most common trend in publishing companies is the diversification of technology usage. By including more diverse offerings such as video, more marketing events, data and analytics, customers will increase and so will the potentiality of the company. When Time Inc. sold Essence in 2017, Reed represented the buyer and found the magazine to be highly attractive due to its successful establishment as a digital business. Glamour ended their monthly print run in 2017 to publishing twice a year in order to focus on digital development. Through expansion on online content, Glamour has become a ‘mobile first, social-first strategy’ (Mayhew, 2017), for example, its dedication to its new video section.
Hodgkin (2018) found subscription renewability to be a significant attraction for publishers as it is a technique to grow revenues. Since political engagement has digitally increased, so will Glamour magazines subscriptions which is great profit. Additionally, publishers expect digital magazines to develop to be faster and more available thanks to the continuous revolution of technology so Glamour is already that step ahead. Digital editions have proved a decent beginning to increase the growth of audiences (Hodgkin,2018). Indeed, this jump to focus on digital editions and push out print, is an iconic era. With the first generation of millennials positioned in management, businesses are more comfortable with technology. For example, Sarosta magazine was sold mainly due to a weak hold in the digital sector. The owner sold his company to digital pioneers as he was unable to develop to digital (Norris, 2018). Fewer buyers are looking for the traditional magazine businesses. Buyers are preferring a business which diversifies from print to digital services such as video, digital events and marketing.
The current trend of digital political engagement in magazine publishing is a growing phenomenon and important for publishers to take advantage of. Profit is clearly made from expanding on social issues, more magazines should focus on reality rather than selling hyper reality to women through focusing only on a woman’s appearance. The time has come to change this.
GLAMOUR MAGAZINE. Available at: https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/ (Accessed: 2nd October 2018)
Griffin, R. (2018) ‘In the Age of Trump, Ignore Women’s Magazines at Your Peril’ Business of Fashion. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/in-the-age-of-trump-ignore-womens-magazines-at-your-peril (Accessed 2nd October 2018)
Hodgkin, A. (2018) ‘Magazines and the attention economy’ Fipp. Available at: https://www.fipp.com/news/opinion/magazines-attention-economy (Accessed: 2nd October 2018)
Mayhew, F. (2017) ‘Glamour editor Jo Elvin departs as magazine scraps monthly print run to focus on digital’ Press Gazette. Available at: https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/glamour-editor-jo-elvin-departs-after-17-years-as-magazine-scraps-monthly-print-run-to-focus-on-digital/ (Accessed: 2nd October 2018)
Mayhew, F. (2017) ‘Jobs at risk as Glamour magazine switches focus to digital with end of monthly print run’ Press Gazette. Available at: https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/glamour-magazine-switches-focus-to-digital-with-end-of-monthly-print-run/ (Accessed: 2nd October 2018)
Norris, A. (2018) ‘How M&A helps shape innovation in magazine media’ Fipp. Available at: https://www.fipp.com/news/features/how-ma-helps-shape-innovation (Accessed: 2nd October 2018)
