Glamour Magazine Ends Print Run To Be Only Digital — And People Are In Mourning
Condé Nast announced on Tuesday that Glamour magazine will no longer produce a regular print version, leaving the publication to exist solely online.
Editor-in-Chief Samantha Barry told The New York Times the magazine is making the change “because it makes sense.”
On moving to digital-only content, Barry said: “It’s where the audiences are, and it’s where our growth is. That monthly schedule, for a Glamour audience, doesn’t make sense anymore.”
The first public signs of what was to come for the magazine’s print edition appeared when longtime editor-in-chief Cindi Leive left the publication last year and digital journalist Barry took over this January. Also, Condé Nast removed an issue from Glamour’s yearly output ― publishing 11 regular issues last year instead of the previous 12. The publishing house has been making big moves in the digital department, launching a digital brand network earlier this year in the hope of attracting advertisers.
The Times notes that “occasional print issues centered on its annual Women of the Year award or topics like power and money” will still happen and online access to Glamour will remain free for now, according to Barry.
The editor-in-chief tweeted on Tuesday that she’s “excited for what’s ahead.”
“Our storytelling at Glamour will be digital, social and video-led with special print moments to mark big issues and events,” Barry wrote.
The magazine, which was founded in 1939, was originally called Glamour of Hollywood. In 1968, it was the first women’s magazine to feature an African-American cover girl. Glamour has become well-known for its Woman of the Year Awards, which recognize women in the public eye.
Glamour’s final print issue is scheduled to reach newsstands Nov. 27.
Many on Twitter are reminiscing about what the magazine means to them and sharing their disappointment in its departure from newsstands:
Wow, Glamour will become a digital-only publication. This made me sad. I knew there was a lack of investment in print when they unveiled the redesigned issue, but there’s still value in print magazines. There is still value in print magazines. https://t.co/pHe6nGaXYR
— Evette Dionne 🤷🏾♀️ (@freeblackgirl) November 20, 2018
Oh, this is a real shame. Glamour has been in print since 1939. It is sad to see the legacy women's magazines being phased out—many, like Glamour itself, have been covering a lot more than beauty or fashion since they were founded. https://t.co/4gwmhiHcMK
— Erin Blakemore (@heroinebook) November 20, 2018
.@glamour was one of the few places that regularly covered women’s fiction. Took that audience seriously as readers and those authors seriously as writers. I will miss it. https://t.co/q6jcNDT4i1
— Jennifer Weiner (@jenniferweiner) November 20, 2018
Print doesn’t... cost that much... there’s a way to save the print monthlys, it sounds like they didn’t want to. https://t.co/vpMFFSklpG
— Margarita Noriega (@margarita) November 20, 2018
Oh my god. Glamour was one of my first magazine subscriptions and the only one I keep to this day. I was also lucky enough to intern at Glamour my senior year of college. It makes sense from a business standpoint, but this one hurts. https://t.co/4kytISLu1e
— Jill DiLibero (@jilldilibero) November 20, 2018
I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for @glamourmag—it’s where I met some of the best and smartest people I’ve ever known. I’m sad to see the print edition disappear from newsstands. “Glamour Magazine to Cease Regular Print Publication” https://t.co/HF3kSBhOBH
— Danica Lo (@danicalo) November 20, 2018
This is a profoundly awesome moment for super-good small magazines and digital magazines--look, for instance, at the @StackMagazines awards last night--but, man, I feel sad about the big magazines I grew up with: https://t.co/3AiYqsPC5Y
— Mark Lotto (@marklotto) November 20, 2018
Wow! understand @glamourmag decision to go digital, but end of an era! My mom was always a subscriber (then so was I) I thought it was the quintessential fashion mag that was still accessible to women in diff economic backgrounds#EndOfPrint #Glamour https://t.co/Jmdug7Pb78
— Tracy Ring (@TracyLRing) November 20, 2018
My first two jobs were at Glamour and Seventeen, two of the strongest magazine brands in the world (and the most money-making). They've folded in the same week. https://t.co/spcCwvKOde
— Kaitlin Menza (@heykmenz) November 20, 2018
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