On the Campaign Trail for Readers

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Nov, 2000 by Matthew Schwartz

TITLES SEEKING TO PROFIT FROM THE BUZZ OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTIONS TARGETED THEIR COVERS, ADDED EDITORIAL, FILED EXTRA STORIES TO THEIR WEB SITES AND SENT THEIR EDITORS ON THE TALK-SHOW ROUNDS. THE RETURNS ARE TO FOLLOW.

Every year a bevy of magazines seek to boost ad sales and circulation through exhaustive coverage of hyped-up events that draw mass audiences in their niche markets. And generally, they succeed. Sports Illustrated and ESPN have the Super Bowl; People, Premiere and Entertainment Weekly have the Oscars; while the fashion magazines and teen titles have, in a word, September. But political magazines--regardless of ideology--have no such annual luxury.

Their best hope for hype occurs just once every four years, when the spotlight of national attention focuses on a presidential election and the Democratic and Republican national conventions. Yet, unlike celebrity-soaked events such as the Oscars, politics is a tough sell for magazines--particularly when they target what is generally considered an apathetic electorate.

"It's all about more exposure and more buzz," says Martin Walker, a magazine industry consultant and chairman of New York-based Walker Communications, regarding convention coverage. "The more buzz the magazine is perceived to have, the more advertising."

Whether any of the political magazines profiled here captured that "buzz"--in measurable terms of increased circulation and revenue--will be revealed in the months ahead. As the accompanying charts show, the returns have so far been fairly mixed. In only one area, Web traffic, have most of the titles been able to capitalize immediately on their quadrennial shot at a political boost.

George

This year's conventions could prove pivotal for George--which, despite a 25 percent increase in paid circulation, had a hard time attracting more advertisers into its special convention issue (see chart) than it did in a non-election year issue. But George publisher Dan Lagani says Hachette-Filipacchi has made an "open-ended commitment to George" for the long-haul. "Any specific story is not a make or break for the magazine," says Lagani. "What happens in politics is always interesting."

But the magazine founded by the late John F. Kennedy Jr. was sure to make its presence felt at both political conventions. It got extensive network coverage from the parties the magazine sponsored (along with the Washington, D.C.-based Creative Coalition) to raise money for research into Parkinson's disease and spinal-cord injury.

The conventions also gave George editor in chief Frank Lalli a chance to spread his wings a few months after taking over the editorial helm. Lalli says the convention issue was able to home in on independent voters, the fastest-growing segment of the electorate. "The way we're edited for independent-minded voters sets us apart from other [political] magazines," says Lalli. Yet in a stroke of partisan-ship, the issue featured a split cover of Ronald Reagan (that sold out at the GOP convention) and John F. Kennedy (that was hard to find at the Democratic gathering).

During the conventions, Lalli was a familiar face on ABC's "Nightline," CNN and Fox News Channel. He also appeared on National Public Radio, among other news outlets. And he moderated a political discussion on Pseudo.com featuring streaming video. Both Lalli and Lagani say similar Web events could play a big role in George's future.

The New Republic

The New Republic's election-year coverage gave the 86-year-old opinion journal "a chance to re-establish our franchise, which is the meat and potatoes of politics," says editor Peter Beinhart. Since Beinhart took over as TNR editor last year, he's made no secret of his desire to make the magazine more timely and more newsy--and the conventions played right into that strategy.

Speed "is more important during the campaign, when news cycles move very quickly," he says. TNR was able to turn around four separate pieces on Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, for example, just two days after he had been nominated for vice president by Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore.

"People will have noted a more aggressive response to the news," says Beinhart. And, in the case of the conventions, a more humorous one. Aside from the GOP convention cover on wondering what the Founding Fathers might say if they were transplanted to present-day Philadelphia, each convention issue featured an extra page of TNR's popular "Notebook" section. The feature includes short, punchy pieces and, in the GOP issue, a "Separated at Birth" item (reminiscent of the late Spy?) on Republican stalwarts Laura Bush and Steve Forbes.

Not to be outdone by their brethren, TNR's contributing editors Michelle Cottle and Andrew Sullivan appeared on political programs such as C-SPAN and PBS' "Washington Week in Review."

The election-year coverage "picked up interest in the magazine," says TNR acting publisher Joan Tooley. (Andrew McColough has since been appointed publisher and president.) She says the magazine offered a special 10 percent discount to consumers for six special election issues covering the primaries, conventions, endorsement and inauguration.