Oprah Winfrey’s magazine will stop producing a regular print edition after the December 2020 issue.
The staff at O: The Oprah Magazine was notified about the decision on Friday, according to fashion industry trade, the Business of Fashion.
The Oprah Magazine is a joint venture between Winfrey and Hearst Communications. Hearst said Monday the brand isn’t going away completely, but will become more “digitally-centric.”
“As the brand celebrates twenty years of O, The Oprah Magazine, we’re thinking about what’s next, but again the partnership and the brand are not going away,” a rep for Hearst Magazines said in a statement to Urban Hollywood 411. “This is a natural next step for the brand, which has grown to an online audience of 8 million, extending its voice and vision with video and social content. We will continue to invest in this platform as the brand grows and evolves into one that is more digitally-centric.”
“I’m proud of this team and what we have delivered to our readers over the past 20 years,” Winfrey added in an accompanying quote. “I look forward to the next step in our evolution.”
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Hearst noted Monday that the magazine will continue in “some form” of print beyond the December 2020 issue, “but what it is exactly is still being worked out.”
The media giant also publishes Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, and several other popular magazines.
News of The Oprah Magazine’s demise followed criticism of the Hearst Magazines division concerning what some have described as a lack of diversity. A recent New York Times investigation also uncovered a “toxic culture” at the division.
Young resigned this past Thursday, Hearst President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Swartz announced.
“Troy Young and I have agreed that it is in the best interest of all of us that he resign his position as president of Hearst Magazines, effective immediately,” Swartz said in a July 23 statement on the company’s website.
The Oprah Magazine launched with the May/June 2000 issue. According to the O Media Kit, the publication’s mission statement is to “Live Your Best Life.”
The magazine, which is geared toward women, features articles on personal growth, beauty, health, fashion, and Winfrey’s annual list of “Favorite Things.” The mag boasts a multicultural print audience that is 57 percent white, 35 percent Black/African American, 11 percent Asian, and 11 percent Hispanic.
The media kit says the publication has a paid monthly circulation of 2.2 million — healthy numbers by current print standards. The website, OprahMag.com, averages 7.8 million monthly unique visitors.
