O, The Oprah Magazine

O, The Oprah Magazine, also known simply as O, is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. In 2021, Winfrey and Hearst rebranded it as Oprah Daily.^[2]

O, The Oprah Magazine

July 2012 cover of O
Editor	Lucy Kaylin
Categories	Women's magazine
Frequency	Monthly
Total circulation (2014)	2,395,496^[1]
First issue	April 19, 2000 (2000-04-19)
Final issue	December 2020 (Print only)
Company	Hearst Communications
Country	USA
Based in	New York City
Language	English
Website	oprah.com/omagazine
ISSN	1531-3247

Overview

It was first published on April 19, 2000. As of June 2004^[update], its average paid circulation was over 2.7 million copies, two thirds by subscription. A South African edition was first published in April 2002; according to the South African Advertising Research Foundation, its average readership was over 300,000. The editor of the South African edition is Samantha Page.^[3] While the sales of most magazines published in the U.S. declined in 2009, O Magazine increased its newsstand sales by 5.8 percent to 662,304 copies during the second half of the year.^[4] O's newsstand sales fell 15.8% during the first half of 2010,^[5] while its subscription circulation increased,^[6] and sales fell 8.2% in the later half of the year.^[7]

Since its inception until the September 2020 edition, Oprah appeared on the cover of every issue of O. The first cover with someone else on it is that of April 2009 issue in which Oprah appears together with the First Lady Michelle Obama.^[8] The second shared cover is with fellow daytime host Ellen DeGeneres on the December 2009 issue, in which four separate covers were shot for this special holiday issue.^[9] For the first time in 20 years of publication, the September 2020 edition featured entirely someone other than Oprah on the cover. This edition featured the late Breonna Taylor, a young woman killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky.^[10]

The magazine serves 63.6% white, 29.8% African-American, 8.8% Hispanic, 1.8% Asian and 6.6% other women. It is directed towards a median age of 47.9, median home value of $214,281, median HHI of $68,911, and median IEI of $38,756.^[11]

In July 2020, it was announced that O Magazine will end its regular print publications after the December 2020 issue.^[12][13] The issue featured an article where Oprah thanked readers and also acknowledged it was the "final monthly print edition." of O.^[14]

Digital editions

The December 2010 issue^[15] was the first released digitally through the magazine's iPad app.^[16] The app features exclusive videos of Oprah, allows readers to preview and purchase books presented in the magazine's Reading Room and O List sections, and gives users the ability to purchase monthly or yearly subscriptions. Individual issues are also available for download through the app.^[17]

Oprah Daily

In 2021, Winfrey and Hearst relaunched O, The Oprah Magazine as Oprah Daily. It came with a new website OprahDaily.com, a membership community Oprah Insider, and a quarterly print magazine titled O Quarterly.^[18]

Staff

In July 2009, Susan Casey became the editor-in-chief of the magazine. Before joining, she was the development editor of Time Inc. Casey was editor-in-chief of Sports Illustrated Women, editor-at-large for Time Inc., and creative director of Outside. Casey wrote The New York Times bestseller The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks (2005), and The Wave.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2009, the magazine hired former Publishers Weekly editor-in-chief Sara Nelson as books editor at O.^[19][20][21]

In May 2013, Lucy Kaylin was promoted to editor-in-chief, replacing Susan Casey.^[22]

Books

Inspired by Oprah's Book Club, O has always paid regular attention to books since inception. In 2015, the magazine teamed up with Flatiron Books of St. Martin's Press and itself published a series of inspirational books, including O's Little Book of Happiness and, in 2016, O's Little Book of Love & Friendship.

Public perception

In a March 2001 article entitled "O Positive", Noreen O'Leary argued that Winfrey was well on her way to influencing the content of women's magazines beyond her own, just as she has helped reshape daytime TV and the world of book publishing.^[23]

Brockmeyer lawsuit

In April 2001, Oprah Winfrey and the Hearst Corporation were sued for trademark infringement by Ronald Brockmeyer, publisher of «O», a German erotic periodical whose publication dated back to the 1990s. In a March 2003 decision, Judge John Koeltl dismissed the suit, citing the different content of the two magazines in addition to the irregular publication schedule and minimal American sales of the German magazine.

References

1. . Audit Bureau of Circulations. June 30, 2013. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
2. Winicov, Rachel (March 17, 2021). "Exclusive: Eying Increasing Membership, Oprah Launches Oprah Daily". Adweek. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
3. [1] February 9, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
4. "U.S. magazine circulation falls 9% at newsstands". cleveland.com. February 8, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
5. Russell Adams (August 10, 2010). "Magazine Circulation Falls Further". The Wall Street Journal.
6. Newsstand Magazine Sales Slide; The Wrap; Dylan Stableford; August 9, 2010
7. Moses, Lucia (February 4, 2011). "Circulation News Not Good for Big Magazine Publishers". Adweek. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
8. "Michelle Obama's Oprah Interview – O Magazine Cover with Obama". Oprah.com. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
9. "Which O Magazine Cover With Oprah and Ellen Do You Like Best?". Oprah.com. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
10. "Oprah's 'O Magazine' Honors Breonna Taylor In Historic Cover". NPR. August 1, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
11. "O Media Kit". www.omediakit.com.
12. "Oprah's O Mag to end regular print editions after 20 years". AP NEWS. July 27, 2020.
13. Arbel, Tali; Writer, AP Technology (July 28, 2020). "Oprah's O Mag to end regular print editions after 20 years". Houston Chronicle.
14. Winfrey, Oprah (November 17, 2020). "Oprah Thanks Readers of O in the Magazine's Last Monthly Issue". O, the Oprah Magazine. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
15. "O, The Oprah Magazine - Oprah.com". Oprah.com. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
16. "The Oprah Magazine debuts on iPad". iPad app info added. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
17. "O, The Oprah Magazine July iPad App is Available Now!".
18. Kelly, Keith J. (February 23, 2021). "Oprah magazine to add paywall, new name for quarterly bookazine". New York Post. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
19. Keith J. Kelly (September 11, 2009). "Casey's at the bat at O, The Oprah Magazine". New York Post. Retrieved October 5, 2010. assumed by Sara Nelson, the mag's new book director...
20. Keith j. Kelly (September 10, 2009). "Oprah's O in overhaul". New York Post. Retrieved October 5, 2010. Sara Nelson was named books editor...
21. Lynn Neary (September 10, 2010). "How To Sell A Book? Good Old Word of Mouth". National Public Radio. Retrieved October 5, 2010. Sara Nelson, book editor at Oprah's O magazine, said ...
22. Lucy Kaylin Rises to Editor in Chief at O, The Oprah Magazine; New York Observer; April 28, 2013
23. O'Leary, Noreen (2001). "O Positive – O, The Oprah Magazine, profile – Statistical Data Included". Brandweek.

External links

• Official magazine websites: Oprah Winfrey and Hearst
• , including ABC Circulation information and mission statement
• Oprah gives O magazine staffers $10K each to celebrate 10th anniversary