Returning to country roots;

Returning to country roots; with ad pages dragging, Country Journal counts on redesign to lead it out of the woods.

Publication:
Folio: the Magazine for Magazine Management
Publish date:
September 1, 1988
Author:
Frichtl, Paul


Returning to country roots

Harrisburg, Pa.--As neighboring country titles prosper, Country Journal finds it needs more than a fresh coat of paint on the barn to get advertisers to take notice. Its publisher, Historical Times, is hoping a complete redesign, coupled with an editorial rededication to its country roots, will rally the magazine from its slide in advertising.

Country Journal introduces its redesign, the first in 15 years, with the October issue. The magazine shows a tight, simplified structure, with graphics clearly defining departments and distinguishing them from features. Liberal white space and greater use of color photo bleeds bring a bolder look.

"The new design underscores the classic, straighrforward, no-nonsense approach that characterizes country living," says James Keough, president of Historical Times.

Editorial has switched to the same approach. New editor Francis Finn, hired in January from CommTec Publishing, has rededicated the magazine to "that place in the country so important to our readers." Recent articles, for example, dealt with the dying art of stacking hay and argued the merits of choosing an axe over a chain saw. The atmosphere and importance of the country fair is examined in the current issue.

A recent Country Journal telephone survey of 2,000 subscribers brought further editorial changes. The survey turned up, for example, the fact that men constitute a large percentage of the audience--about half. In response, the magazine is covering more universal topics, such as gardening, and backing away from women's topics, such as sewing.

Looking out for No. 3

Keough hopes the redesign will halt the advertising skid Country Journal has been on since acquired by Historical Times in 1984. Ad revenues totaled $3.3 million in 1983, but had dwindled to $1.8 million for 1987. Ad pages declined 8.3 percent to 258 pages in 1987. Pages dropped another 13 percent in first quarter 1988.

In terms of ad pages, Country Journal is now the No. 3 book in what, until 1986, was a two-title field. That year, Canadian Harrowsmith set up shop in Vermont, and has been sprouting advertisers ever since. The U.S. edition carried 286 pages of ads last year, up 26 percent from 1986.

The field leader, Mother Earth News, tag-lined "The original country magazine," is also showing stamina. Owned by American Health publisher Owen Lipstein, the title carried 329 pages in 1987, up 5.3 percent from 1986. It gained a sturdy 40 percent in the first quarter of this year.

But Country Journal doesn't blame its ad slide entirely on the competition. The magazine, Keough notes, suffered a general "loss of direction" from the original Blair & Ketchum's Country Journal, launched in 1974. Editorial strayed from the country-home peg to include, for example, travel. The strength of the original design was siphoned off by a succession of art directors. What's more, the magazine lost much of its staff--most of which was never adequately replaced--when it moved from Vermont to Historical Times' Pennsylvania headquarters.

The push to upgrade the magazine comes from Cowles Media Company, Minneapolis, which bought Historical Times in December 1986. (Cowles acquired FOLIO: and other Hanson Publishing Group titles in January 1988.) Cowles's substantial investments in the magazine, says Keough, include hiring former Time Inc. art directors Leonard Wolfe and Richard Warner for the redesign, conducting reader research and beefing up editorial staff.

Country Journal's circulation, however, doesn't need changing. Currently at an all-time high of 360,000, circulation, say the publishers, has plenty of growth potential in the 1990s.

Most readers are somewhat affluent country property and home owners, and potential owners, "tired of chasing the golden ring and considering changing their way of life," says Finn. Although often overlooked in statistics that focus on "the great upscale," these country dwellers, Keough adds, generally read more magazines than the average consumer, and have considerable buying power.

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