O, The Oprah Magazine
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''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host
Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...
and
Hearst Communications Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televi ...
.


Overview

It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was over 2.7 million copies, two thirds by
subscription The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, a ...
. A South African edition was first published in April 2002; according to the South African Advertising Research Foundation, its average readership was over 300,000. The editor of the South African edition is Samantha Page. While the sales of most magazines published in the U.S. declined in 2009, ''O Magazine'' increased its newsstand sales by 5.8 percent to 662,304 copies during the second half of the year. ''O'''s newsstand sales fell 15.8% during the first half of 2010, while its subscription circulation increased,Newsstand Magazine Sales Slide
The Wrap; Dylan Stableford; August 9, 2010
and sales fell 8.2% in the later half of the year. Since its inception until the September 2020 edition, Oprah appeared on the cover of every issue of ''O''. The first cover with someone else on it is that of April 2009 issue in which Oprah appears together with the
First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non- monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...
. The second shared cover is with fellow daytime host
Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...
on the December 2009 issue, in which four separate covers were shot for this special holiday issue. For the first time in 20 years of publication, the September 2020 edition featured entirely someone other than Oprah on the cover. This edition featured the late Breonna Taylor, a young woman killed by police in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
. The magazine serves 63.6%
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 29.8%
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
, 8.8%
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
, 1.8% Asian and 6.6% other women. It is directed towards a median age of 47.9, median home value of $214,281, median HHI of $68,911, and median IEI of $38,756. In July 2020, it was announced that ''O Magazine'' will end its regular print publications after the December 2020 issue. The issue featured an article where Oprah thanked readers and also acknowledged it was the "final monthly print edition." of ''O''.


Digital editions

The December 2010 issue was the first released digitally through the magazine's
iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, ...
app. The app features exclusive videos of Oprah, allows readers to preview and purchase books presented in the magazine's Reading Room and O List sections, and gives users the ability to purchase monthly or yearly subscriptions. Individual issues are also available for download through the app.


Staff

In July 2009, Susan Casey became the editor-in-chief of the magazine. Before joining, she was the development editor of Time Inc. Casey was editor-in-chief of ''
Sports Illustrated Women ''Sports Illustrated Women'' (previously called ''Sports Illustrated for Women'') and also known as ''SI Women'', was a bimonthly sports magazine covering (according to its statement of purpose) "the sports that women play and what they want to fo ...
'', editor-at-large for Time Inc., and
creative director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...
of '' Outside''. Casey wrote ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' bestseller '' The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks'' (2005), and ''The Wave''. In September 2009, the magazine hired former ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' editor-in-chief Sara Nelson as books editor at ''O''. In May 2013, Lucy Kaylin was promoted to editor-in-chief, replacing Susan Casey.


Books

Inspired by Oprah's Book Club, ''O'' has always paid regular attention to books since inception. In 2015, the magazine teamed up with Flatiron Books of St. Martin's Press and itself published a series of inspirational books, including ''O's Little Book of Happiness'' and, in 2016, ''O's Little Book of Love & Friendship''.


Public perception

In a March 2001 article entitled "O Positive", Noreen O'Leary argued that Winfrey was well on her way to influencing the content of
women's magazines This is a list of women's magazines from around the world. These are magazines that have been published primarily for a readership of women. Currently published *'' 10 Magazine'' (UK - distributed worldwide) *''Al Jamila'' (Saudi Arabia) *'' All ...
beyond her own, just as she has helped reshape daytime TV and the world of book publishing.


Brockmeyer lawsuit

In April 2001, Oprah Winfrey and the Hearst Corporation were sued for trademark infringement by Ronald Brockmeyer, publisher of ''
«O» ''O'' was an international fetish magazine published in Germany. The name comes from the French sadomasochistic novel ''Story of O''. History and profile ''O'' was started in 1989 as a successor to the German version of '' Skin Two'' magazine, ' ...
'', a German
erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scu ...
periodical whose publication dated back to the 1990s. In a March 2003 decision, Judge
John Koeltl John George Koeltl (; born October 25, 1945) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan. Education Koeltl was born in New York City. He graduated from Regis High Scho ...
dismissed the suit, citing the different content of the two magazines in addition to the irregular publication schedule and minimal American sales of the German magazine.


References


External links

* Official magazine websites
Oprah Winfrey
an
Hearst


including ABC Circulation information and
mission statement A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operatio ...

Oprah gives ''O'' magazine staffers $10K each to celebrate 10th anniversary
{{Hearst Hearst Communications publications Magazines established in 2000 Magazines published in New York City Monthly magazines published in the United States Oprah Winfrey Women's magazines published in the United States