Thursday, November 7, 2024

Oprah Shutting Down O Magazine Print Edition After 20 Years with Embattled Hearst Publications

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O stands for Oprah and for over. The Oprah magazine, called O, is apparently over.

Begun twenty years ago in print, and 10 years ago digitally, there are reports that O will cease print operations with the December issue. The website may continue. One editor has hinted at that on social media.

This is a surprise since the magazine has been considered a success in Hearst’s shaky empire of publications that include Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Harpers Bazaar, and Marie Claire. O has a reported average paid circulation of 2.2 million copies and a 10 million print audience

But Hearst is in a huge crisis since the ousting this week of CEO Troy Young after a New York Times story exposed his extreme bad behavior. Young and his cohort, chief content officer Kate Lewis, came from the digital side of the business, took over the magazines, and began destroying them.

It’s unclear right now if Oprah herself pulled the plug, or Hearst did it for her. It would seem if Oprah –who’s appeared on every cover — wanted to continue the print magazine she could publish it or herself or move it to a different publisher. But the headaches of continuing may be something she’s simply not interested in anymore. She’s 66 years old, and concentrating on her OWN Network.

When O the Oprah magazine began, Oprah’s bff Gayle King ran the show. But over the years, Gayle, obviously, has found great success with the CBS Morning News. The current editor in chief is Lucy Kaylin, who’s been with Hearst for 14 years. But Kaylin must have known the writing was on the wall. She hasn’t Tweeted since February 9th.

Stay tuned…

If anyone knows more, I’m at showbiz411@gmail.com.

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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