University of Mississippi

New Ventures 

Despite the demise of some children’s publications and the move from print to the 

Internet of others, new ventures continue to appear. Magazine launches are one indication of the 

health of the children’s magazine industry and the numbers from the past 15 years are 

encouraging. The 2011 edition of 

Samir Husni’s Guide to New Magazines 

reported

 

the following 

numbers of new publications for children from 1995 through 2010:

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1995-6  

1996-15 

1997-12 

1998-16 

1999-6  

2000-10  

 

2001-20 

2002-17  

2003-16  

2004-8  

2005-17  

2006-17 

 

2007-13 

2008-9  

2009-10   

2010-15 

 

---

 

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An explanation for children’s publishers’ optimism appeared in 

Folio

 magazine in 

February 2011:  

While many media pundits purport that magazine readership is dropping or that printed 

magazines may soon be extinct, the truth emerges that year after year magazine 

readership continues to grow. In fact, magazine readership has increased for the past five 

years—right through the recession, according to MPA, which found that four out of five 

adults read magazines.

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And adults are usually the ones to subscribe to children’s magazines.  

 

Print has faced hard times before and the right publications can still find success. Despite 

the odds, print still has a place for publishers with the right audience.  

“Magazines are still a great way to declare community and build a bond between 

audience, author and advertisers,” Federated Media founder and chairman John Battelle told 

Folio 

in 2009. “But given the reality of the economics, only certain kinds of magazines make 

sense anymore.”

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