Ladies home journal, Ladies' Home Journal, the magazine that has been helping to shape the style and taste of American women since the 19th century, is ending its 130-year run of regular publication.
In its heyday, LHJ, as it is known in short, reached almost 7 million readers, and together with rivals such as Better Homes and Gardens, and Good Housekeeping, it helped define suburban America to itself in the postwar years. But the turmoil in magazine publishing in the digital revolution, and the declining advertising revenue that ensued, has had its toll.
Meredith Corp, the Iowa-based publishing empire that owns the magazine, said it was “transitioning” the title to “a special interest publication”. The magazine will cease publication in New York, its home since its founding in 1883, and its whole editorial staff is now out of work.
Art Slusark, Meredith’s chief communications officer, told the Guardian that the current publication schedule of 10 issues a year and circulation by subscription would end, replaced by a newsstand only publication put out every three months. The Journal will become a “niche” publication dealing with the “core interests” of its readers, joining 125 other similar products in the company’s “special interest group” based in Des Moines, Iowa.
The demise of the regular LHJ title means that the legendary “Seven Sisters” – the group of women’s magazines that dominated the market through much of the 20th century – has now been reduced to five. McCall’s closed in 2002.
Slusark said that LHJ’s difficulties were not related to its consumer base – it continued up to today to have a robust following of 3.2 million readers. But, Slusark said, the title had suffered “particularly difficult” problems with advertising revenue, partly flowing from the relatively older median age of its subscribers, 57.
The first signs of turbulence at the veteran title came last year when AdAge reported that LHJ’s editors were planning to shift a lot of the production of its content to its own readers. Instead of relying on the work of staff writers, the magazine began to draw copy from a sister website, DivineCaroline.com, where readers can post their own articles.
The magazine began in 1883 as the Ladies Home Journal and Practical Housekeeper, and rapidly gathered a solid following of more than 1 million by the turn of the century. It went through a succession of publishers before being acquired by the Meredith Corporation in 1986.
Slusark said that the women’s magazine market had become much more complex since the heyday of the “Seven Sisters”. Meredith Corp, which also owns two other “Seven Sisters” magazines –Better Homes and Gardens, and Family Circle – is seeking to serve female readers through a plethora of new niche publications, he said, adding that “we’re bullish about our titles”.
In its heyday, LHJ, as it is known in short, reached almost 7 million readers, and together with rivals such as Better Homes and Gardens, and Good Housekeeping, it helped define suburban America to itself in the postwar years. But the turmoil in magazine publishing in the digital revolution, and the declining advertising revenue that ensued, has had its toll.
Meredith Corp, the Iowa-based publishing empire that owns the magazine, said it was “transitioning” the title to “a special interest publication”. The magazine will cease publication in New York, its home since its founding in 1883, and its whole editorial staff is now out of work.
Art Slusark, Meredith’s chief communications officer, told the Guardian that the current publication schedule of 10 issues a year and circulation by subscription would end, replaced by a newsstand only publication put out every three months. The Journal will become a “niche” publication dealing with the “core interests” of its readers, joining 125 other similar products in the company’s “special interest group” based in Des Moines, Iowa.
The demise of the regular LHJ title means that the legendary “Seven Sisters” – the group of women’s magazines that dominated the market through much of the 20th century – has now been reduced to five. McCall’s closed in 2002.
Slusark said that LHJ’s difficulties were not related to its consumer base – it continued up to today to have a robust following of 3.2 million readers. But, Slusark said, the title had suffered “particularly difficult” problems with advertising revenue, partly flowing from the relatively older median age of its subscribers, 57.
The first signs of turbulence at the veteran title came last year when AdAge reported that LHJ’s editors were planning to shift a lot of the production of its content to its own readers. Instead of relying on the work of staff writers, the magazine began to draw copy from a sister website, DivineCaroline.com, where readers can post their own articles.
The magazine began in 1883 as the Ladies Home Journal and Practical Housekeeper, and rapidly gathered a solid following of more than 1 million by the turn of the century. It went through a succession of publishers before being acquired by the Meredith Corporation in 1986.
Slusark said that the women’s magazine market had become much more complex since the heyday of the “Seven Sisters”. Meredith Corp, which also owns two other “Seven Sisters” magazines –Better Homes and Gardens, and Family Circle – is seeking to serve female readers through a plethora of new niche publications, he said, adding that “we’re bullish about our titles”.
