The name's the thing at MSL - Martha Stewart Living - Brief Article

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, June 1, 1994

For only the fourth time in nearly three years, Martha Stewart does not appear on the cover of the eponymous Martha Stewart Living. Industry speculation that the 725,000-circulation title's often-imitated style is prompting Stewart to minimize her appearance in the bimonthly as part of a redesign is mistaken, according to publisher Eric Thorkilsen.

Instead, he says, the hostess extraordinaire, who also publishes books and videos and appears in a syndicated TV show based on the magazine, has become a household name, thereby diminishing the need to highlight her countenance. "We realized from the start that her brand would become more important than pictures of her on the cover and inside the magazine," says Thorkilsen, noting that three covers previous to May/June that did not feature Stewart sold just as well as those that did. The only change in the title--which just won the National Magazine Award for Photography--is that it will go monthly this August.