Actress Drew Barrymore. Image: AFP/Gabriel Bouys
What do Oprah Winfrey, Gwyneth Paltrow and Drew Barrymore have in common? They have all launched their own magazines. Barrymore, known for her role in “Charlie’s Angels,” is the latest celebrity to venture into print media.
“Magazines are such a huge part of my life and they’re such a huge part of my inspiration for everything I do,” she told WWD. “I’ve lined my walls with magazine tear sheets since I was like 10 years old. I have a picture of myself in my bedroom and it’s like floor to ceiling and wall-to-wall. I’ve always loved magazines because of the paper and the experience.”
The new magazine will build on Drew Barrymore’s celebrity status, and will feature articles on beauty, travel and food. A publication that the actress describes as an “optimism magazine,” that is both “very commercial” and “very personal.” PTo create it, Drew Barrymore has surrounded herself with Crystal Meers, who contributed to Gwyneth Paltrow’s website Goop, and floral stylist Christy Doramus. They are the editor-in-chief and director of the publication, respectively.
Drew magazine will be available in June in Walmart supermarkets and then on American newsstands. Its price: $9.99 (over P480). The American actress said she wanted to focus on the first issue, without projecting too much into the future.
Personalized magazines are on the rise
The newspaper and magazine industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bauer Media Group, which publishes Drew, was forced to suspend the publication of many magazines in Australia and New Zealand last September, including Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Men’s Health. Oprah Winfrey’s iconic magazine, O, also took a hit and will no longer be published on a monthly basis.
Steven Kotok, Bauer Media CEO, however remains confident that Drew will be able to attract a faithful readership.
“A lot of the magazines that are struggling are very, very driven by advertising. Our focus is always on the consumer revenue stream. And we start with something that can make money just from engaging the consumer the right way,” he explained to WWD.
And it might just work. The personification of magazines is coming back into vogue in the press. Canadian TV hosts Drew and Jonathan Scott have launched their own magazine, as has Canadian-American actress and cookbook author Ayesha Curry. In France, Sophie Davant recently took the plunge and created “S.” Since its release last December, the bimonthly magazine has sold several hundred thousand copies. JB
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