Magazines that cover American public affairs, culture, and life have long held an important place in American journalism. But the magazine industry, like the rest of journalism, has struggled in recent years.

This special edition of our podcast is an audio version of Heidi Legg's new Shorenstein Center Paper "Preserving America's Thought Leader Magazines." https://shorensteincenter.org/preserving-americas-thought-leader-magazines

The paper starts with a brief history of the thought leader magazine with an emphasis on how they built trust, which is key to attracting loyal readers. The discussion then turns to brand affinity, as it relates to trust and affects revenue streams. Finally, the paper examines how six leading thought leader magazines – New York Magazine, Mother Jones, Wired, The Information, The Atlantic, and Rolling Stone – are all responding to changing public demand and delivery.

Thanks to Harvard College student Andrew Zucker for producing this audio paper.