Magazines: United We Stand; Television, Internet, And Social Media: Divided We Sit. Part Three
Lessons from the past for today’s magazine editors and publishers… “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Matthew 13:9
Not all the magazines of July 1942 carried the American flag on the cover, however each magazine, in its own way, paid tribute to the United We Stand campaign and the war efforts. In this third installment of Magazines: United We Stand, Social Media: Divided We Sit, we look at three magazines from 1942, Hit!,Liberty Laughs, and Liberty. To read part one click here and to read part two click here.
Hit! magazine, July 1942
In what reads like dry humor today, Hit magazine, in an article on pages 4-5 about the model displayed on that spread, wrote:
I GAVE MY GIRDLE FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE
You mustn’t use rubber, you can’t get zippers, so what can a poor girl do about a girdle? Confidentially, she shrinks. No fooling, brother, the answer to girdle shortage in the near future will be bend down, sister, bend down. If your girl can’t afford the ritzy reducing salons, give her the turkish towel workout at home. Dancer Movita of the Havana-Madrid night club in New York says it’s a lulu. As soon as she finishes her morning shower, Movita goes into action. Her technique is a combination of the rhumba, conga and the Susie-Q. Movita’s theme song is rub-a-dub-dub and she plans to roll the excess poundage away with a turkish towel, thus eliminating the need for a two-way-stretch. After she’s perfected her form (and frankly we can’t see a thing wrong with it now) she’ll turn in her girdle in the interests of National Defense. And then the only rubber not available for defense will be you, you rubberneck!
Liberty Laughs magazine, December 1942
This brand new magazine with a tag line Best War Cartoons, Jokes and Anecdotes premiered with its December issue with a back cover cartoon supporting the United We Stand campaign and screaming “every BOND is a STEP in the right direction.” The magazine published by Dell Publishing Co., was the brainchild of Frances Cavanah and Ruth Cromer Weir, who were listed as the Compilers of the content.
Liberty Laughs first issue started with AN OPEN LETTER
Members of the Chicago North Shore Alumnae Chapter of Theta Sigma Phi, National Honorary and Professional Fraternity for Women In Journalism, have compiled this magazine as a contribution toward the war effort. We pledge to turn over all the royalties from its sale to Army Emergency Relief.
We believe that a nation that can laugh is a nation that can take it, and we have attempted to bring together some of the best war humor published to date.
Without the generous cooperation of AMERICAN, COLLIER’S, ESQUIRE, NEW YORKER, PARADE, SATURDAY EVENING POST, THIS WEEK and other magazines and newspapers, this project would not have been possible. We are grateful to the artists and authors who have allowed us to use their material without fee. No one represented in this magazine has received one cent of compensation…
Liberty magazine, February 14, and October 3, 1942
The Macfadden publication, in its Feb. 14 issue, had a painting of Miss America 1942 draped with an American flag adoring the cover of the issue. In an editorial under the heading of Remember Pearl Harbor the magazine asked WHY NOT USE THESE ABLE MEN? And went on to answer:
TO win this war, we need all the brains that America can supply. Not only New Deal brains but all constructive minds. No party in this country has a monopoly on ability. The administration has been telling us that politics must be adjourned. When do we start?…
Now is no time to hold old grudges. Now is no time for discrimination. Now is a time to use all our resources for victory… These resources, these brains, these great and patriotic Americans should be allowed to help win the war!
In the same issue of Liberty magazine an advertisement for Texaco read: Helping make America strong:
HIGHER, FASTER, FARTHER!
Right now it is good to know our aviation designers are at work on the greatest fighting airplanes the world has ever seen. Working side by side with them on the gasoline and lubrication problems of these new planes are the research men of the oil industry. In the Texas company alone are more than 1000 skilled scientists and technicians — working and planning — helping make America strong.
An ad on the inside front cover of the October 3 issue, Liberty magazine offers an Emblem of the Statue of Liberty with the words WE ARE MAKING WINNING THE WAR OUR JOB.
The ad goes on to state: The Emblem of Liberty WEAR IT ON YOUR COAT Americans will never stop fighting for those principles of liberty that have made this country great!
Wherever you see the Liberty Emblem – in a coat lapel, in a window, on a counter or in a store – you will know that an American is saying: “I Am Making Winning The War My Job”
An editorial in the aforementioned issue under the title THE U.S.A. IS OURS reads:
THE U.S.A. is ours – the individual possession of every mother’s one of us.
THE U.S.A. is not just a name to be applauded patriotically, not just a land, not just a country. The U.S.A. is factories turning out beds and cars, cereals and cosmetics, medicines and clothes, tanks and airplanes and guns. It is capital contributing its money and brains, and labor contributing its muscle and skill. It is farms producing food. It is cities housing millions and villages warm with friendliness. It is roads leading to work and to pleasure. It is schools and churches and hospitals and homes. It is song and laughter and love and children and the good satisfaction of a day’s work…
And, more than all this, it is the mighty sinews of freedom, weaving through every least citizen’s affairs, giving him the right – and the opportunity – to be part of this great whole, to co-operate, contribute, and pridefully share in its priceless gift – liberty…
Remember, the U.S.A. is all of us. It belongs to all of us. It is our hearth and our home. It is our opportunity – and our obligation…
Don’t let any of us put any personal interest before this one – and we’ll keep it ours – the magnificent U.S.A.
To be continued…
Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni, Ph.D.
Founder and Director
Magazine Media Center
Preserving the Past, Present, and Future of Magazine Media
“I’m very optimistic about magazines. The part of the magazine business that has grown, up until the headwinds everybody faced in 2022, has really been the specials and bookazines part of the business.” Doug Olson…
“I think that people still like that lean-back experience and some of these topics just lend themselves to be enjoyed through the magazine medium and not necessarily through what we get on the screen.” Doug Olson…
“The consumer is facing so much inflation. Do they have enough disposable income to spend on their hobby or their enthusiast brands? So we worry about the consumer.” Doug Olson…
Doug Olson, President & Chief Media Officer of a360media
There’s no one in the top echelons of the magazine industry who knows the business like Doug Olson. Stepping down as president from the magazine division at Meredith last October, Doug retired for a bit and now currently serves as President & Chief Media Officer of a360media, the media division of accelerate360.
Between dynamic acquisitions of Bauer and Centennial Media, Doug is leading a360 into a sharply-focused future of weeklies, specials and powerhouse bookazines, the potential wave of the future when it comes to the magazine format, according to the man himself. Doug is unwavering in his determination and belief in magazine media, without any false facades or rosy pictures of a predestined future. He knows the odds and the headwinds he faces, yet he also knows what that lean-back experience still means to consumers.
So without further ado, please enjoy this exclusive Mr. Magazine™ interview with Doug Olson, President & Chief Media Officer of a360media.
But first the sound-bites:
On the acquisition of Bauer and Centennial Media and how he feels about magazines and magazine media: As you know, I’m a big fan of brands in general and certainly brands on all platforms, but specifically when we did the acquisition of Bauer earlier in 2022, we got ourselves into the women’s lifestyle part of the business, which with my background, I have a lot of experience in the women’s lifestyle market, so picking up Woman’s World and First For Women helped to broaden the portfolio. I’m very optimistic about magazines.
On whether he thinks specials and bookazines are the “new” magazines of the newsstands: I call them bookazines; I know a lot of people call them specials, but it’s really people who are into enthusiast-type topics. Some people call them participation brands, which I love that term, because if you’re really into something you’re willing to pay for it if it’s a quality product. So we’re going to focus on putting out a good, quality product that consumers want to buy and I really think this is the part of the magazine business that is definitely the future of magazines. Smaller, passionate groups around something that they have a high interest in that they’re willing to pay for.
On titles like “Stream +” or “Feel Free,” is he committed to more than just one issue: To me, you have to do at least two of something. You can’t do a one-and-done or do one and make a big bet on it in today’s world. So we’ve committed to a few issues on both of those titles, for example. But really, finding an audience out there is what we’re trying to do.
On whether bookazines that cost $14 or $15 can still be called impulse buys: I think it’s less of an impulse buy than it used to be because of that high cover price on these beautiful magazines, but that’s one of the things that we’re trying to solve when we put Centennial Media and what we acquired from Bauer earlier this year together, is not only to have a big newsstand presence in your traditional retailers, but also help the consumer find something that they hear about. Because that’s the number one complaint I get about these specials or bookazines. I’ve heard about “Stream +” and it’s right up my alley, but I went to my local store and I couldn’t find it.
On where he is positioning a360media compared to the other publishing entities out there: To be honest, I’m sure it’s very similar. But what my strategy is and what my management team has been working on very hard since I arrived 11 months ago, is a digital and consumer-first strategy. What that means is we know we have to digitize these businesses and we’re doing a good job of that as well, we have a very good digital team that has been busy the last couple of years here doing just that, but at the same time we want a consumer-first business.
On whether he believes we still need five or six different celebrity weeklies: I think the consumer will decide that. That’s one thing that we look at very carefully. We own several of those and they’re all doing well. Obviously, the newsstand environment has been trending down for many years. We responded to that by putting out the best product that we can. We have some really efficient editors who work on those titles and they have great contacts and they do a good job. I guess the consumer will decide that.
On the partnership with Darwin CX as Media Fulfillment Partner and whether partnerships in general are the future for magazine media: Yes, I think we look at it as a competitive advantage to be very nimble and be able to pivot very quickly. Darwin is one that really came with the acquisition of Bauer. Bauer had already transitioned its fulfillment business to Darwin and they were in the middle of the implementation. We took a look at it and at first we thought it’s newer and it’s definitely more of a self-service from a reporting standpoint. Software is a service so it’s very flexible and probably where all of this is going.
On whether it’s easier for him now working for a company that also owns the distribution: (Laughs) I wouldn’t say easier, I would say there are certainly advantages and there are also disadvantages, but really at the end of the day our distribution team does a great job in a really tough market. There are all kinds of cost pressures and competitive pressures at the front end of the store. It’s great to hear their perspective on things, so you have that one more input.
On moving forward, what does he think the biggest challenge for the company will be: One is the consumer is facing so much inflation. Do they have enough disposable income to spend on their hobby or their enthusiast brands? So we worry about the consumer.
On whether he thinks there is a limit or a cap on how high a magazine can be priced: I think whatever the consumer decides on that as well. We’re getting in the territory where it’s going to be hard to justify many more price increases, unless something from the trim size or the amount of content also increases. But it’s right in the neighborhood now of some less expensive books and I guess time will tell. But I also would have answered the question the same way five years ago when we were at about $10 and didn’t see $14 or $15 as being a reachable price, but we’ve obviously proven that wrong.
On anything he’d like to add: I just believe, once again, in brands and in what we’re going to do with them moving forward. And in what place in the brand spectrum that magazines play; it’s definitely shifting, as we’ve seen. But at the end of the day, I think that people still like that lean-back experience and some of these topics just lend themselves to be enjoyed through the magazine medium and not necessarily through what we get on the screen.
On life after Meredith: I have a lot of friends there that I still talk to all the time and I wish them nothing but the best. We had a special place there for many, many years. I think we all enjoyed working together, challenged ourselves to get through this tough business cycle that magazines have been in, but at the same time digitize that business as well. And now it’s in different owners’ hands and hopefully they’ll do the best job they can with it, because there are a lot of great people who work there.
On any advice he would give someone launching a magazine: There are a lot of great ideas out there, but not all of them are meant to be in the magazine format. I think we’ve seen in the past, even with some really popular personalities, that it doesn’t guarantee a successful magazine moving forward. I think everybody can do one, it’s when you get to the second and third one when it gets tough, because you put all of your best ideas into the first one.
On what keeps him up at night: You know, I sleep pretty good these days, because I retired once. (Laughs) Just making sure that we have a really fun place to work where people give it their all. I want to make sure as we’re coming out of this pandemic; you know, we’re still virtual, we have some people who go into the office, but a lot of people found they were very productive at home. So just finding that right balance is one of the things that keeps me up at night.
And now the lightly edited transcript of the Mr. Magazine™ interview with Doug Olson, President & Chief Media Officer of a360media, the media division of accelerate360.
Samir Husni: You’ve been in an acquiring mode lately. You bought Bauer and now you’ve bought Centennial Media; may I assume that you have a really good feeling about magazines and magazine media?
Doug Olson: As you know, I’m a big fan of brands in general and certainly brands on all platforms, but specifically when we did the acquisition of Bauer earlier in 2022, we got ourselves into the women’s lifestyle part of the business, which with my background, I have a lot of experience in the women’s lifestyle market, so picking up Woman’s World and First For Women helped to broaden the portfolio.
And then we ended up with some digital upside out of that because the Bauer folks hadn’t done a lot with the digital platforms on those brands so we saw a lot of upside there. The secret sauce in the deal for me was that we got their specials and bookazine platform, which several people who were running that business actually were at Time Inc. back in the day and then were acquired through Meredith, but unfortunately left Meredith, but I was able to get those folks back on my team with this acquisition.
I’m very optimistic about magazines. The part of the magazine business that has grown, up until the headwinds everybody faced in 2022, has really been the specials and bookazines part of the business. With Bauer, we got a nice base platform and now with Centennial Media, that’s all they do, we feel like we have a substantial part of market share that has shown a lot of growth in the last five years.
We need to get through all of these headwinds first with high paper prices and high petroleum prices with freight, all the surcharges and things that we’ve been facing, but we feel really good about our platform on the specials and bookazines as we move forward.
Samir Husni: Do you think the specials and the bookazines are the “new” magazines for the newsstands?
Doug Olson: Oh yes, we’ll definitely come out with some new things there. We’ve got a lot of things on the drying board. The beauty of that business is that if something works, you do more of it. If something doesn’t work, you just stop doing it and you pivot.
I call them bookazines; I know a lot of people call them specials, but it’s really people who are into enthusiast-type topics. Some people call them participation brands, which I love that term, because if you’re really into something you’re willing to pay for it if it’s a quality product. So we’re going to focus on putting out a good, quality product that consumers want to buy and I really think this is the part of the magazine business that is definitely the future of magazines. Smaller, passionate groups around something that they have a high interest in that they’re willing to pay for.
Samir Husni: When I see titles like “Stream +” or “Feel Free,” are you waiting to see the results of the first volume to see if you’ll go with more or with “Feel Free,” do you have the go-ahead to publish it as a quarterly? Is the jury still out on “Stream +?”
Doug Olson: To me, you have to do at least two of something. You can’t do a one-and-done or do one and make a big bet on it in today’s world. So we’ve committed to a few issues on both of those titles, for example. But really, finding an audience out there is what we’re trying to do.
We think there are a lot of people that have all of these streaming services but really don’t know what they offer. They hear about the big ones obviously, the Bridgerton’s and the Game of Thrones that exist, everyone has heard about those, but there is all kinds of quality content out there that people just don’t know about. So we’re trying to bridge that gap with “Stream +.”
Then with “Feel Free,” Leanne Ford is quite the personality and she’s really good at what she does. And with my history, I really have an affinity and a passion for some of the HGTV celebrities that we’ve helped launch magazines with in the past. Leanne has a very passionate audience and we’re going to see where we can take that, but there is just no guarantee in this world anymore. You have to give consumers what they want and what they’re willing to pay for.
And that’s what I love about this bookazine business, you try things and if it works, you do more of it.
Samir Husni: It used to be said that buying magazines on the newsstands was more of an impulse buy than anything else, but with a cover price of $14 or $15 today, can they still be called impulse buys?
Doug Olson: I think it’s less of an impulse buy than it used to be because of that high cover price on these beautiful magazines, but that’s one of the things that we’re trying to solve when we put Centennial Media and what we acquired from Bauer earlier this year together, is not only to have a big newsstand presence in your traditional retailers, but also help the consumer find something that they hear about. Because that’s the number one complaint I get about these specials or bookazines. I’ve heard about “Stream +” and it’s right up my alley, but I went to my local store and I couldn’t find it.
So we’re going to make it really easy for the consumer. They’re going to be able to go to our magazineshop.us and we’re going to expand that out and do a lot more promoting of it and people are going to be able to buy that same title that they would get at retail online of they can’t find it and it will be the same price, including shipping, it’ll just be a few days later. Obviously, it’s a big advantage if you can find it at your local store because you can get it instantaneously, but if it’s something you’re really passionate about and you can’t find it, we’ll make it available to you there.
Samir Husni: As you look at the big picture, the entire magazine media platforms out there, where do you see a360media compared to Dotdash Meredith, Hearst, Condé Nast; we are seeing less and less companies left. Where are you positioning a360media compared to the other publishing entities out there?
Doug Olson: To be honest, I’m sure it’s very similar. But what my strategy is and what my management team has been working on very hard since I arrived 11 months ago, is a digital and consumer-first strategy. What that means is we know we have to digitize these businesses and we’re doing a good job of that as well, we have a very good digital team that has been busy the last couple of years here doing just that, but at the same time we want a consumer-first business.
And that’s where these bookazines and specials enter into the equation. Again, if you’re willing to spend $15 on something, you believe in it. It’s something that you really want to be a part of. At a360 we’re trying to be digital and consumer-first, but we also believe that the value end of the market are the weeklies that we sell. We have a lot of weekly titles including Woman’s World, which I mentioned earlier, US Weekly, Closer, In Touch, just to name a few. And there is still a market for those too.
It’s not breaking news like it used to be, obviously, with production schedules and all the digital competition that’s out there, the social platforms especially, but the story behind the story and some of the adjacent stories, there is still an audience out there that likes that, the weekly cadence. So we believe that’s the value end of the market and of course the premium end of the market are the bookazines. It’s the stuff in the middle that’s shifting one way or the other, mostly to quarterly or less frequent.
There are less examples in the industry of big brands that are no longer in the print form or magazine form and there are also many of them that are now less frequent and very subject matter specific. I think you’re going to see more of that. It’s the middle stuff, the 10 times or the 12 times type of magazines that are all heading toward less frequency.
Samir Husni: It’s good to hear that you still believe in the weeklies, but do we really need five or six celebrity weeklies?
Doug Olson: I think the consumer will decide that. That’s one thing that we look at very carefully. We own several of those and they’re all doing well. Obviously, the newsstand environment has been trending down for many years. We responded to that by putting out the best product that we can. We have some really efficient editors who work on those titles and they have great contacts and they do a good job. I guess the consumer will decide that.
If we have less overtime, that’s something that we’ll have to deal with, but right now we’re good. We did transition OK Magazine; it was a weekly earlier this year and now it’s a quarterly. So you’ll see a yearend review coming out under the OK brand, it’s one of the quarterly offerings for that title. But it’s something that we keep a very close eye on. And at the end of the day, if the consumer wants the product we’ll keep putting it out there.
Samir Husni: You’re doing quite a lot of partnerships. I noticed it even with the bookazines. You’re using a lot of freelance outfits to create the bookazines and you just partnered with Darwin CX as Media Fulfillment Partner. Do you see partnerships as a vehicle for the future when it comes to saving costs and creating more products?
Doug Olson: Yes, I think we look at it as a competitive advantage to be very nimble and be able to pivot very quickly. Darwin is one that really came with the acquisition of Bauer. Bauer had already transitioned its fulfillment business to Darwin and they were in the middle of the implementation. We took a look at it and at first we thought it’s newer and it’s definitely more of a self-service from a reporting standpoint. Software is a service so it’s very flexible and probably where all of this is going.
Because again, I’m a brand person and our organization believes in brands. And part of that is when you digitize your business, what is it going to look like from a paid products perspective? Or what does the subscriptions look like into the future? And I think Darwin has thought through all that and has a lot of flexibility. So we’re not only going to be able to do traditional and a subscription to a magazine, but on the digital end or the future end of this thing, a lot of different approaches that they’re already set up and ready to go on. So we’re very excited about that partnership. I think it’s transformational for us and that’s the kind of partnerships we’re looking for.
Back to the content partnerships or some of the freelancers, we want to find experts. We want people who really know their stuff when we do a bookazine or a special, to make sure it’s a high quality product that someone is going to buy.
Samir Husni: Is it easier for you now, working in a company that also owns the distribution?
Doug Olson: (Laughs) I wouldn’t say easier, I would say there are certainly advantages and there are also disadvantages, but really at the end of the day our distribution team does a great job in a really tough market. There are all kinds of cost pressures and competitive pressures at the front end of the store. It’s great to hear their perspective on things, so you have that one more input.
But at the same time, I think they have high expectations for our product too. So our parent company wants to have the best product out there and sell the most, so we may be part of the team, but there are high hurdles they want us to get over the top of. But overall, I think it’s a nice fit. It’s just a different world right now.
When I grew up in this business, there was a lot of advertising focus, not as much on the consumer, and that has completely flipped. There’s a lot of focus on the consumer now. And you hope you can put together an audience that the advertisers want to be a part of, and we’ve seen a nice rebound in the magazine advertising here in the middle of 2022 and we hope that continues on. When people ask me what it’s like at a new organization, I tell them I have a great team here and we’ve had super opportunities with the acquisitions to bring more professionals into the organization and make our leadership team even stronger.
But we’re much more like a startup from a staffing perspective than back in the days when big media companies had a lot of people running around doing a lot of tasks. There are a lot less people running around doing the work right now.
Samir Husni: As you approach the end of 2022 and look forward to 2023, what do you think will be the largest headwind you’ll have to face and how will you handle it?
Doug Olson: I think there are two. One is the consumer is facing so much inflation. Do they have enough disposable income to spend on their hobby or their enthusiast brands? So we worry about the consumer.
But once we get past some of these inflationary things, the number one input cost that we’ve been dealing with in the last 12 months has been the cost of paper. The cost of paper was at historical lows and in the last 12 months, depending on how efficient and how much scale you have, I think you’re looking at a 25 to 30 percent increase.
And we’re not hearing that that’s coming down soon. As a matter of fact it may go up substantially again in 2023. So it’s put a lot of strain on all the publishers and all these great products that are out there that are in the form of a magazine. We’re hoping that we can be creative. One of the things that I always do is go to the mills and ask them what is their most efficient grade and weight? And could I move our products to their sweet spot, if you will. But we’ve done that with a lot of them and we’re still facing pretty large increases.
But if the consumer isn’t facing eight or nine percent inflation; if they can get that down to two or three, or something that’s more reasonable, I do believe that we have some quality products that they’re going to want to buy at the same pace that they did prior to all of this inflationary situation that we’re currently facing. But at the end of the day, I do really worry about paper. And we’re keeping a close eye on that and trying to stay as creative as possible to keep that down.
Samir Husni: Do you think there is a limit or a cap on how high a magazine can be priced?
Doug Olson: I think we’re there. I truly believe we’re in that neighborhood already. Unless it’s something that’s extremely popular.
I’ll tell you a story… back in the day when I first started at Meredith, I didn’t know anything about publishing and I walked into one of the pub director’s offices and they happen to do houseplants, sold a lot of houseplants back in the day. So I was building a new house and I walked into his office and I asked, hey, is there any chance I could get one of those houseplant magazines? He said, for free? And I said yes, I work at the company, can I get one of those houseplant magazines? He looked at me and said, how much is your house going to cost? And I told him it was a big investment for me, and then I told him how much the house was. He said, let me get this straight, you’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a brand new house, but you want me to give you a $9.95 magazine for free? (Laughs) And I said, yeah, that’s exactly what I’m asking.
I think whatever the consumer decides on that as well. We’re getting in the territory where it’s going to be hard to justify many more price increases, unless something from the trim size or the amount of content also increases. But it’s right in the neighborhood now of some less expensive books and I guess time will tell. But I also would have answered the question the same way five years ago when we were at about $10 and didn’t see $14 or $15 as being a reachable price, but we’ve obviously proven that wrong.
Samir Husni: Is there anything else that you would like to add or tell my audience when it comes to magazines and magazine media?
Doug Olson: No, I think you’ve been very comprehensive. I just believe, once again, in brands and in what we’re going to do with them moving forward. And in what place in the brand spectrum that magazines play; it’s definitely shifting, as we’ve seen. But at the end of the day, I think that people still like that lean-back experience and some of these topics just lend themselves to be enjoyed through the magazine medium and not necessarily through what we get on the screen.
You can’t ask me what’s life like after Meredith. (Laughs) I get that question a lot.
Samir Husni: Oh, is there life after Meredith? I didn’t realize. (Laughs too)
Doug Olson: I have a lot of friends there that I still talk to all the time and I wish them nothing but the best. We had a special place there for many, many years. I think we all enjoyed working together, challenged ourselves to get through this tough business cycle that magazines have been in, but at the same time digitize that business as well. And now it’s in different owners’ hands and hopefully they’ll do the best job they can with it, because there are a lot of great people who work there.
But I’ve got a great team now at a360media and it just keeps getting better as we are rolling up some of these acquisitions. I believe that at the end of the day if you have a really good team that is committed to what they’re doing, you’ll find good solutions that the consumers want to pay you for. And so far that has been the case.
Samir Husni: If I tell you that I have a great idea for a magazine, what advice would you give me?
Doug Olson: There are a lot of great ideas out there, but not all of them are meant to be in the magazine format. I think we’ve seen in the past, even with some really popular personalities, that it doesn’t guarantee a successful magazine moving forward. I think everybody can do one, it’s when you get to the second and third one when it gets tough, because you put all of your best ideas into the first one. I think we could all do that and come up with something pretty interesting, it’s after you put all of your best ideas; what does it look like after that? That’s what I tend to ask people who are interested in launching a magazine.
Plus, it’s hard. Even with big social media audiences and things like that, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that everyone is going to run out and buy it. But I think if you keep at it long enough and do a lot of testing and learning, you can find things that people are very passionate about and are willing to pay for. And that’s why we’re here.
Samir Husni: My typical last question; what keeps you up at night?
Doug Olson: You know, I sleep pretty good these days, because I retired once. (Laughs) Just making sure that we have a really fun place to work where people give it their all. I want to make sure as we’re coming out of this pandemic; you know, we’re still virtual, we have some people who go into the office, but a lot of people found they were very productive at home. So just finding that right balance is one of the things that keeps me up at night.
And then making sure that these great products are put out in the right spots in the stores so that consumers can find them is the other thing that keeps me up. Because we know we have great products, we just have to make sure that they’re put in front of the consumer at the right time. And if they can’t find it at their store, we have to make it easy for them to log onto our website and order it and get it a couple of days later.
Magazines: United We Stand; Television, Internet, And Social Media: Divided We Sit. Part Two
Lessons from the past for today’s magazine editors and publishers… “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Matthew 13:9
October 1942, 80 years ago, Harper’s Bazaar was celebrating its 75th anniversary. On page 32 of that issue there was an ad for Hearst Magazines, publisher of Harper’s Bazaar and seven other magazines back then. The ad read:
“Looking backward takes history
For three-quarters of a century, Harper’s Bazaar has brilliantly chronicled, year-by-year, step-by-step, the expanding life of a great nation, the more or less intimate details of burgeoning frontiers in many fields of thought and expression. In similar capacities these seven other magazines of the Hearst Group have reflected in their turning pages, the living history of a people – what they saw and wanted and liked, what they ate and wore and did for a living, what they reasoned and argued about and cared for deeply – as no single historian will ever be able to write it down. These magazines are an integral portion of the past in the country. No complete picture of that past can really be obtained without consulting them. For they are history.”
“Looking forward makes history
These gratifying records of years of continuous publication and esteemed public service are rooted primarily in the determination and the capacity of these magazines to set the pace. They have made and continue to make history because they accept the challenge of the future – accept it and forecast it and help to shape it. Longevity in magazines is no happen-so, but the carefully considered and earnestly dedicated efforts of their publishers to give them a useful and valiant purpose to contribute workable material to the lives of their readers, to make them an instrument for good in the hands of the people they seek to serve.” Harper’s Bazaar, October 1942, Page 32.
And all what I can add to the above ad is a quote from the Good Book, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
In the first part of this blog I wrote (if you read part one of this blog, you can skip down to Cosmopolitanmagazine, October 1942):
“In 1788, George Washington wrote a letter to Philadelphia publisher Matthew Carey in which he expressed the hope that American magazines would succeed because he considered them “easy vehicles of knowledge” that are “more happily calculated than any other, to preserve the liberty, stimulate the industry and meliorate the morale of an enlightened and free people.”
John Tebbel, in his book The Magazine In America, commenting on Washington’s letter, noted that magazines were incomparably better purveyors of knowledge than the newspapers of Washington’s time. I agree and would add that magazines are incomparably much better purveyors of knowledge than the internet and social media which, together with television, are becoming the major source of news and information for the people, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center.
80 years ago, in 1942, American consumer and trade magazines led a campaign titled “United We Stand.” Almost every magazine in the country carried the American flag on its July cover and continued with the slogan “United We Stand” until the end of WWII. This was a coordinated effort by the collective body of magazine publishers of that time. Unlike today’s internet and social media, magazines back then were attempting to unite the country, while social media, the internet and television now are allowing the country to live a “virtual civil war” with no end in sight.
Some of those magazines from 1942 are still alive and kicking. They are still promoting the good things in life, nurturing the many changes that took and are taking place in the country. For better or worse, magazines and their brands have contributed to the betterment of the country and its people regardless of the prevailing trends. They were and are innovators, influencers, and educators at the same time. This is a far cry from what social media is today or what it will be tomorrow. Indeed, social media, with all its platforms, could be said to be united under one term, “Divided We Sit.” The majority of magazines adhered to their roles, both social and financial, with great responsibility, unlike today’s social media that only carries the name “social” without any responsibility. In fact, social media is as unsocial as unsocial can be.
I truly believe that the war of the 1940s was much less dangerous to our country than the “virtual civil war”we are witnessing today. The magazines of the 1940s united together to help the country stay united and to help the American public survive and thrive in every aspect of its lives. What follows are a few randomly selected examples, from the Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni magazine collection, from 1942 of how magazines and their advertisers supported the war effort and helped keep our country united. The contents and magazine experiences, both in editorial and advertising, were much more than a slogan (“United We Stand”),but rather a way of life and a call to action.
May the editors and publishers of today’s magazines look at the history of American magazines and discover how magazines served their customers first–both advertisers and readers–and never veered from their mission of editing and publishing for that intended subscriber or newsstand buyer…”
In addition to the aforementioned ad from Harper’s Bazaar above, here is the second set of examples starting in alphabetical order and based on the magazines that I own:
Cosmopolitan, October 1942
In an article by Ralph Barton Perry on page six of the October 1942 issue, he writes, “AN ARMY sergeant remarked after hearing a friend of mine explain where Hitler got his ideas, “That Machiavelli certainly was no cream puff.” He was beginning to see that something was fundamentally wrong with the present state of the world. As long as two years ago a New Hampshire farmer of my acquaintance, who had been reading the newspapers, said, “Well, I suppose that sooner or later we’ve got to lick that man Hitler; and the sooner we get at it the better. I’ll be seeing you on the other side.”
“Mr. Average American doesn’t regard war as a picnic or a great adventure: he can think of lots of things he’d rather be doing. But once he is convinced that there’s a job to be done, he’ll do it and he’ll see it through…”
“So when I am asked what sort of world we want, and I try to speak for other Americans as well as for myself, I say that we want a safe world, and a free world, and a just world. We want safety, freedom and justice; we want them for others, as well as for ourselves and we have come to see that we cannot have them for ourselves unless we share them with others in a common world, All who would live in such a world must fight for it together along the hard road that ascends through the valley of war to the heights of victory.”
As for the ads, the “United We Stand” could easily be seen in the majority of the ads including this one for Pullman (The Greyhound of the 1940s)… The ad reads:
“There’s room for both…IF !
AS THINGS NOW STAND, there are enough Pullman cars to meet all requirements for troop transportation without seriously affecting civilian passenger service IF… civilian travelers cooperate in making capacity use of cars!
Therefore, you help your own cause by following these simple suggestions whenever you make an overnight trip:
Make reservations as early as possible.
Cancel reservations promptly if your plans change.
Ask your ticket salesman on which days Pullmans are least crowded and try to travel on those days.
Take as little luggage as you can.
And you get the “sleep going” that is so important when you have to “keep going” at all-out wartime pace.”
On final note, every ad page in the magazine had a sentence in the folio of the ad-page, “Keep informed – read Magazine Advertising!”
Esquire, July and October 1942
The July 1942 issue of Esquire had not one, not two, but three American flags on the cover. The main flag appeared on the traditional metallic ink section that was a trademark of Esquire’s right hand side of the cover with a list of the contents of that issue on it. In an editorial on page 6 of this issue, the editors wrote, “WITH this issue we bid goodbye, for the duration to the metallic ink on the front cover. Appropriately enough it goes out in a blaze of Old Glory, as it frames the flag that is a front cover feature of virtually all the magazines that are on sale the week of July Fourth this year. Next month, to mark the transition the flag will stay on our cover, but the metallic ink will be gone…”
“At Pearl Harbor… the light of the world flickered dangerously low for a few dark hours. But ss this is written, to the accompaniment of a broadcast of Gen. MacArthur’s communiqués concerning the results of the first Battle of the Coral Sea, the flame is rising steadily.”
And in October 1942, Esquire, “The Magazine for Men”, and “the largest selling fifty cents magazine in the world,” continued its United We Stand campaign and Old Glory draped the content on the cover sans the metallic ink. Old Glory continued to appear on the cover one more issue and it was retired with the December 1942 cover.
As for the advertisers, and there were plenty, they played their role in the United We Stand campaign. Here is one example from the October issue from the United States Rubber Company.
“Thanks for the Rubber that Saved his Life!”
“Already in America any one of a million mothers might have written that line. Planned is an army of six million, many of them destined for overseas.
On every transport there is life-saving equipment for every man… on every plane that flies far over the water there is a rubber boat. Such essential protection must not be skimped. It is unthinkable…
Precious life will be sacrificed unless each one of us helps. Will you do your part to the utmost limit? Will you take watchful care of your tires and every other rubber product you own so that they will last for the duration of the war?
Field & Stream, July 1942
Field & Stream, like the majority of the magazines, had a painting of the American flag on the cover together with “United We Stand” and “Buy United States War Savings bonds And Stamps.” What was unlike the rest of the magazines was a spread headlined WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING FOR :
“AS long as deep love of country burns I the hearts of our young men, we need not fear the future. The letter which we here publish speaks for itself. We are proud of this letter and proud to print it. It was written by a young student at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, to his aunt in Columbia, South Carolina.”
The magazine published the letter and followed it with,
“We believe that no loyal American citizen can read this boy’s letter without getting a lump in his throat. Our country may mean spruce and juniper and high mesas, or it may mean palmettos and cypress swamps. The important thing is that it means something deep and stirring to all of us. These are the things for which we will fight.”
On the ad front, an ad on page 84 asking readers to Give to the USO. Under the heading The War isn’t fought in Fox Holes alone
“It’s fought in the mind. It’s fought with a will to win. It’s fought with a belief in a cause worth dying for.
That will, that belief, is known as morale.
Our enemies have had years of indoctrination. They have been conditioned to believe themselves part of a “new order”… to which the contribution of their lives is small but important. They believe themselves cogs in a vast machine.
Our soldiers do not fight that way – because they do not live that way. They believe in the sanctity of the individual. They must be treated as persons…
Now above all times, to make your dollars count, give to the USO!
Harper’s Bazaar, October 1942
It’s the 75th anniversary issue of the magazine that was launched in 1867. An ad on pages 16 f and 16 g for the New York Dress Institute sums the state of the magazine during the United We Stand efforts. The ad reads:
“A Woman’s Right of Choice”
“IN TEN SHORT MONTHS we have been hurled into a strange new world – a world battling to determine whether freedom of choice shall survive. As a people, we have cheerfully chosen to restrict our freedoms nowthat freedom itself might live.
ENTHUSIASTICALLY, we are investing our savings in the greatest cause I history. Eagerly, we have entered into various war works. Willingly, we have chosen to share our riches with those who share our hopes. For ours is a land of plenty in a very empty world.
IN MAKING SUCH A CHOICE, we have deliberately limited the quantity of many times essential to the war effort. This is as it should be. But, there are other goods and many workers which cannot be absorbed into war industries. These industries must be kept earning that they, too, can contribute their share to the war economy in taxes and bonds…”
And the ad concludes,
“SO BUY YOUR FULL QUOTA OF WAR BONDS – more if you can. Then, erase every doubt that you are being unpatriotic when you choose fashions to keep you lovely.”
To be continued…
Samir “Mr. Magazine™”Husni
Founder and Director
Magazine Media Center
Preserving the Past, Present, and Future of Magazine Media
Mr. Magazine