National Geographic will end single-copy sales of magazines next year, focus on subscriptions, digital
NEW YORK (AP) — The familiar yellow-bordered cover of the monthly magazine National Geographic will no longer be available on newsstands starting next year, as part of budget cuts for the venerable magazine.
The company is focusing on its digital product and will offer special editions in newsstands, a spokesperson said Thursday. Subscribers will still receive a printed copy each month.
Newsstand sales represent a small percentage of the magazine’s monthly circulation of just under 1.8 million copies, the magazine said.
Even a magazine that started publishing in 1888 isn’t immune to financial headwinds hitting the media. Best known for its colorful photography from around the world, the magazine was founded more than a century ago by the National Geographic Society, which supports science and exploration.
Control of National Geographic has changed twice in the past decade, first through a sale to 20th Century Fox before being acquired by Walt Disney Corp. in 2019. It was hit by a series of layoffs.
Craig Welch posted on Twitter on Wednesday that his new issue of the magazine has just arrived, marking his 16th and final feature as a senior writer for the magazine.
“NatGeo fires all of its staff writers,” he wrote.
The magazine said that while it’s accurate, it no longer has someone titled “writer,” but people who both write and edit. Instead, it will turn to non-staff members to write stories. The changes took place as a result of a reorganization in April.
The company would not say how many people have lost their jobs.
“National Geographic will continue to publish a monthly magazine dedicated to exceptional multi-platform storytelling with cultural impact,” said spokesperson Chris Albert. “Road changes won’t change our ability to do this work, but rather give us more flexibility to tell different stories and meet our audience where they are across our many platforms.”
“Any insinuation that the recent changes will negatively affect the magazine or the quality of our stories is simply false,” he said.
