The counter counterculture: Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group, has found magazines to be very effective in spreading its gospel. But if flagging, post-9/11 donations don't pick up, the nonprofit may have to scale back

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Jan, 2002 by Dale Buss

Distinguishing among the panting headlines, not-so-coy come-ons and bare midriffs found in teen magazines today can be nearly as difficult as choosing a favorite member of *NSYNC. How can you know where to turn for "183 Ways to Be a Party Goddess"? Or for the lowdown on how to "Talk Dirty with Blink-182"? Or for tips on "How to Flirt"? (Hint: Give yourself a shout-out if you answered CasmoGirl!, Seventeen and YM, respectively.)

When you pick up Brio, however, there's little chance you will confuse it with the pack of other teen titles. It could be the article about "The Nerve to Serve," honoring teenage girls who've devoted themselves to church and community, that sends that distinctive message. Or perhaps it's "Being Clothes-Minded," a story about how there are things in life that are more important than fashion.

The 134,000-circulation Brio, obviously, isn't your typical teen magazine, but that's because its publisher bears scant resemblance to your typical magazine publisher. Focus on the Family is a nonprofit organization of Christian conservatives. Headed by Dr. James Dobson, founder and president, Focus on the Family brings in about $128 million a year and uses that money to spread its social and political gospel. Radio is its best-known medium, but magazines are a key part of its sophisticated communications strategy While most nonprofits publish one or, at most, two titles, Focus on the Family has 1 2 culture-bucking magazines, segmented demographically and filled with wholesome fare about relationships, faith and family. Teenage boys get Breakaway, children are turned on to Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr., and aging baby boomers receive LifeWise. All told, the advertising-free magazines have a total paid circulation of nearly 3.5 million.

The monthly magazines not only provide a stream of practical advice to like-minded readers, they engender goodwill toward the organization and, along with the books, videos, radio shows and call centers, prepare the ground for its social and political positions.

"All of Focus's pieces support one another, which helps make them enormously important and influential," says Peter Montgomery, communications director for People for the American Way, the Washington, D.C.-based liberal-interest group that regularly tangles with Focus on issues ranging from gay rights to book banning, abortion to AIDS. "The magazines' work on parenthood and family issues helps bond people to Dobson, and to Focus, so when he's talking about politics, people are more responsive."

But the aftermath of the events of September 11 could put a slight crimp in Focus on the Family's message-sending ability. Like many other charitable organizations not directly relieving those who suffered in the attacks, Focus on the Family saw its donations suffer, forcing it to cut the size of its largest magazine. And if the donations don't pick up, some of Focus on the Family's vaunted media operations could be scaled back even more.

A PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY GOES PUBLIC

The Focus on the Family worldview is an extension of the philosophy and personality of the 65-year-old Dobson. A former Los Angeles-based child psychologist, Dobson founded Focus on the Family nearly 25 years ago in southern California. He came to national prominence in 1980 when he published his first book, Dare to Discipline. Its childrearing teachings contrasted sharply with the wisdom of the day, embodied in the more permissive notions of Dr. Benjamin Spock.

It's this espousal of a traditional viewpoint that has been Focus on the Family's hallmark. "This organization is largely built on counterculture," explains Kurt Bruner, the vice president of Focus resource groups, which includes magazine and book publishing, audio and video and film production. 'The trend and the message of the culture has always been permissive parenting, and Dr. Dobson said, 'No: Dare to discipline.' Then feminist ideology was on the rise, and he was affirming motherhood. It's the backlash supporting those ideas that has caused the growth and impact of this organization, because there's a large segment of the population that says, 'I don't want my family going in the direction of the culture at large.'"

With his folksy yet persuasive style, Dobson built a following with his radio presence, 19 popular books on parenting and family life (such as The Strong-Willed Child and Love Must Be Tough), and uncompromising stances on important issues as he increasingly addressed intersections among culture, public policy and family. His daily half-hour radio show runs on more than 3,000 Christian-format stations around the world, while a 90-second commentary gets airtime on more than 300 secular stations.

As a result, Dobson has become one of the most powerful figures on the Christian right. His ability to spur listeners to rain down thousands of phone calls on Washington, D.C.--on issues ranging from pornography to gambling--is legendary inside the Beltway. A decade ago, Focus on the Family was growing so fast that it moved to anew, 81-acre campus in Colorado Springs, which a People for the American Way spokesman calls "the only operation of the religious right that has its own ZIP code."