Battling the Fear Economy

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Nov, 2001 by Joe Hagan, Jillian Ambroz

Although the life they lead is probably different from that of Yoga Journal's subscribers, Guns & Ammo's readers are looking anew at their magazine, too. "We know there's been more activity at the Web site," says Skip Johnson, general manager of outdoor events for the magazine's owner, Primedia Inc. (also the principal owner of Folio:); "We've had more questions and information requests about personal safety, like 'How do I stay safe in a crowd?' 'What are the basics I should think about for home defense and home security?' 'Now do I need to buy a gun?"'

Some publications have seen a surge in interest translate into sales. The September issue of Time Inc.'s Real Simple was in the last days of its five-week stay on newsstands when tragedy struck "Usually the last week is a dead week, because it's been on sale for four weeks and people have already seen it," says Real Simple's Steve Sachs, associate publisher, consumer marketing. But this year's September issue sold 30,000 copies in its last week, 82 percent higher than September 2000's 16,500. "Can trace that directly to the tragedy?" asks managing editor Carrie Tuhy. "No. Do I think it was a result of it? Yes."

"I feel there is going to be an increased need for this," she says, referring to Real Simple pie's focus on body, soul, life and home. "I really feel we have a mission."

At the Jewish intellectual quarterly Tikkun editor Rabbi Michael Lemer has found much the same thing. "I've been getting thousands of e-mails from all over the world from people saying they'd like to subscribe," Lemer says. Tikkun's subscription service, Publisher's Creative Systems, says that from September 11 to October 5 the magazine sold 42 subscriptions, compared with 29 between August 1 and September 10.

The story is similar at Guideposts, the magazine founded by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale to offer "true stories of hope and inspiration." The magazine's fall direct mail subscription drive, which hit mailboxes just after the attacks, is running 25 percent over expectations, according to vice president and publisher Janine Scolpino. Instead of 48,000 subscriptions, as of the first week of October the campaign had generated 62,000. The Christmas donor renewal program was similarly successful, says Scolpino; the magazine expected 40,000 subs, and by October 5 had received 95,000. "1 don't think it'll keep up this much--it can't be this strong," she says.

Still, she says, "Historically, people turn to Guideposts during times like this. Desert Storm; the Oklahoma City bombing; Columbine--we generally tend to see increases in circulation or subscriber interest." And after the World Trade Center attack, says Scolpino, she feels Guideposts has a whole new audience--New York City. "In New York, our penetration is really low," she says, adding: "I feel this whole situation has given the New York community an ability to relate to the magazine."

For backers of Storage, which was to cover the data storage business, the tragedy meant a shift in launch plans. When the World Trade Center was attacked, Paul Gillin, vice president of editorial at TechTarget, which publishes Web sites for information technology workers, was about to announce a February debut. The launch is still on, but now, says Gillin, the magazine is changing its focus by concentrating much more heavily on data recovery.