Rosie's ratatouille
Gruner + Jahr USA launches a women's magazine for TV star Rosie O'Donnell
Gruner + Jahr USA launches a women's magazine for TV star Rosie O'DonnellBy Thérèse BalduzziInspired by the success of O, The Oprah Magazine by America's most successful talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, Gruner + Jahr USA is following up with Rosie magazine. It is named after the talk show host Rosie O'Donnell. Alongside Martha Stewart Living, this is the third women's magazine by a TV personality.
O, The Oprah Magazine, which was launched last year, became profitable within a year and has a circulation of 2.1 million copies - which is nothing short of a miracle for a consumer magazine. As a result, O was named both "Magazine of the Year" and "Launch of the Year" by Advertising Age magazine. O is a joint venture between the publishing house Hearst and Oprah Winfrey's own company Harpo Entertainment. This success story certainly played a major role in Gruner + Jahr USA's decision to relaunch its outdated women's magazine McCall's as Rosie.
The dead live longer thanks to a new name
McCall's was one of the most important women's fashion magazines in America in the 1950s and 1960s and looks back on a history of over a hundred years: at the end of the 19th century, the tailor James McCall immigrated from Scotland and shortly after opening his studio in America, he published a fashion brochure that quickly developed into McCall's magazine.
After various changes of editor, McCall's reached its heyday in the mid-sixties and sold 8.5 million copies. In recent years, however, it has steadily lost readers and advertising, until last year its circulation fell to half that of the 1960s.
Rosie O'Donnell's show "Rosie" takes place at ten in the morning, while Oprah's show is at four in the afternoon. While Oprah has become the unofficial guru of self-help culture, the overweight O'Donnell presents herself as down-to-earth, direct and allows herself some rather sharp jokes.
In contrast to the esoterically inclined Oprah, she has the image of a friend who is forgiven for speaking her mind openly because she is honest and has a big heart. In addition to her humorous demeanor, O'Donnell is also known for her passion for social causes, such as the adoption of children.
This mix is also to be reflected in the content of the magazine, which is now being launched with a circulation of 3.5 million copies. For example, the first issue featured a story about Uma Thurman's involvement in a toy and clothing exchange for poor children, in which the actress was photographed without make-up.
While Martha Stewart Living publishes a calendar showing when to plant which flowers and which festivals to prepare for, Rosie publishes a parody of such a calendar. One entry is called Learning to pronounce Ratatouille. Rosie's audience is younger, educated women. Although it is a risk to tie a magazine so closely to a personality, the pattern seems to be catching on.
O, The Oprah Magazine, which was launched last year, became profitable within a year and has a circulation of 2.1 million copies - which is nothing short of a miracle for a consumer magazine. As a result, O was named both "Magazine of the Year" and "Launch of the Year" by Advertising Age magazine. O is a joint venture between the publishing house Hearst and Oprah Winfrey's own company Harpo Entertainment. This success story certainly played a major role in Gruner + Jahr USA's decision to relaunch its outdated women's magazine McCall's as Rosie.
The dead live longer thanks to a new name
McCall's was one of the most important women's fashion magazines in America in the 1950s and 1960s and looks back on a history of over a hundred years: at the end of the 19th century, the tailor James McCall immigrated from Scotland and shortly after opening his studio in America, he published a fashion brochure that quickly developed into McCall's magazine.
After various changes of editor, McCall's reached its heyday in the mid-sixties and sold 8.5 million copies. In recent years, however, it has steadily lost readers and advertising, until last year its circulation fell to half that of the 1960s.
Rosie O'Donnell's show "Rosie" takes place at ten in the morning, while Oprah's show is at four in the afternoon. While Oprah has become the unofficial guru of self-help culture, the overweight O'Donnell presents herself as down-to-earth, direct and allows herself some rather sharp jokes.
In contrast to the esoterically inclined Oprah, she has the image of a friend who is forgiven for speaking her mind openly because she is honest and has a big heart. In addition to her humorous demeanor, O'Donnell is also known for her passion for social causes, such as the adoption of children.
This mix is also to be reflected in the content of the magazine, which is now being launched with a circulation of 3.5 million copies. For example, the first issue featured a story about Uma Thurman's involvement in a toy and clothing exchange for poor children, in which the actress was photographed without make-up.
While Martha Stewart Living publishes a calendar showing when to plant which flowers and which festivals to prepare for, Rosie publishes a parody of such a calendar. One entry is called Learning to pronounce Ratatouille. Rosie's audience is younger, educated women. Although it is a risk to tie a magazine so closely to a personality, the pattern seems to be catching on.
