This is Why Hearst Magazines Can Afford to Launch New Print Products When Others Are Shutting Them Down

If you look across the magazine media industry, companies are shuttering print titles at an alarming rate. While there have been some new launches, many of those publications have since died. A print magazine sounds and looks good until those production bills and lack of advertiser interest starts to bring publishers into reality. Just in the last quarter of last year, five print titles shut down opting to focus on the websites instead. Complex, Bloomberg Pursuits, Self and Observer and Pallet all packed it in. At Nylon Media however, the company announced that its mens focused magazine 'Nylon Guys' which it shuttered two years ago, will be coming back due to reader and advertising demand. We will watch that one close to see how long it lasts in its second life. The outlook on print is dismal at best. But there is a bright light in all of this and it shining from atop the Hearst Tower in midtown Manhattan. Hearst Magazines President David Carey is bullish on print and so is his boss Hearst Corp CEO Steven Swartz. So much so that the company is planning to launch about 3 or more print titles this year alone. The company closed out last year with the launch of 'The Magnolia Journal' a new lifestyle print title in partnership with TV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines of 'Fixer Upper'. Following that launch the company confirmed that it will in fact be launching another print magazine with Airbnb. Then after that the company announced that it will launch another print magazine in partnership with another TV star Ree Drummond called 'The Pioneer Woman'. So many wonder how can Hearst afford to be launching all these print magazines when other companies are running away from it. Well, for one, the fact that these magazines are based on and around tv stars is no mistake. It is part of the strategy. Launching with these individuals means the new magazines have an immediate built in audience. It's a strategy Hearst has been using since the launch of 'O-The Oprah Magazine'. They've since followed that up with magazines from people like Dr. Oz and it seems to be working. Another part of why David Carey can launch these new print titles is because Hearst magazines is part of a much bigger machine with deep pockets, The Hearst Corporation which is privately held and it doesn't hurt that the company had a record 2016 with $10.8 billion in revenue.