National Geographic magazine’s familiar yellow-bordered cover may soon disappear from newsstands
The July 2023 edition of National Geographic is for sale on a newsstand, with a copy of National Geographic Kids on top, Thursday, June 29, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
The Associated Press
New York — The familiar yellow-bordered cover of the monthly National Geographic will no longer be for sale on newsstands from next year, part of cuts affecting the venerable magazine.
A spokeswoman said Thursday that the company is focused on its digital product and will offer special editions on newsstands. Subscribers will still receive a printed copy each month.
The magazine stated that newsstand sales account for a small percentage of the magazine’s monthly circulation, which is slightly less than 1.8 million copies.
Even the magazine, which was published in 1888, is not immune to the financial constraints affecting the media. Known around the world for its color photography, this magazine was started more than a century ago by the National Geographic Society to support science and exploration.
Control of National Geographic has changed twice in the past decade, first in a sale to 20th Century Fox before its acquisition by Walt Disney Corp in 2019. It has been hit by a series of layoffs.
Craig Welch posted on Twitter Wednesday that his new issue of the magazine has just arrived, marking his 16th and final issue as the magazine’s senior writer.
He wrote, “NatGeo is laying off all of its staff writers.”
The magazine stated that it is accurate that it no longer has someone with the title of “writer”, it has people who write and edit. Instead, it would turn to non-staff to author stories. The changes took place as a result of the reorganization in April.
The company would not discuss how many people lost their jobs.
“National Geographic will continue to publish a monthly magazine dedicated to extraordinary multi-platform storytelling with cultural impact,” said spokesman Chris Albert. “The change in staffing will not change our ability to do this work, but will give us more flexibility to tell different stories and meet our audiences where they are across our many platforms.”
He added, “Any suspicion that the recent changes will have a negative impact on the quality of the magazine or our storytelling is absolutely misplaced.”
