Reader’s Digest
February 1922 cover of Reader's Digest
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| Editor-in-chief | Bruce Kelley |
|---|---|
| Format | Digest |
| Total circulation (2016) |
2,662,066 |
| Founder |
DeWitt Wallace Lila Bell Wallace |
| First issue | February 5, 1922 |
| Company | Trusted Media Brands, Inc. |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | New York City, New York |
| Website | rd |
| ISSN | 0034-0375 |
Reader's Digest is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it now has its headquarters in New York City. The magazine was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace. For many years, Reader's Digest was the best-selling consumer magazine in the United States, losing the distinction in 2009 to Better Homes and Gardens. According to Mediamark Research (2006), it reaches more readers with household incomes of $100,000+ than Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week and Inc. combined.
Global editions of Reader's Digest reach an additional 40 million people in more than 70 countries, with 49 editions in 21 languages. It is believed that the printing system MEPS was used to achieve this multi language translation. It has a global circulation of 10.5 million, making it the largest paid circulation magazine in the world. It is also published in Braille, digital, audio, and a version in large type called Reader's Digest Large Print. The magazine is compact, with its pages roughly half the size of most American magazines'. Hence, in the summer of 2005, the U.S. edition adopted the slogan: "America in your pocket." In January 2008, it was changed to: "Life well shared."
The magazine was started in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace while he was recovering from shrapnel wounds received in World War I. Wallace had the idea to gather a sampling of favorite articles on many subjects from various monthly magazines, sometimes condensing and rewriting them, and to combine them into one magazine.
Since its inception, Reader's Digest has maintained a conservative and anti-Communist perspective on political and social issues. The Wallaces initially hoped the journal could provide $5,000 of net income. Mr. Wallace’s continuing correct assessment of what the potential mass-market audience wanted to read led to rapid growth. By 1929, the magazine had 290,000 subscribers and had a gross income of $900,000 a year. The first international edition was published in the United Kingdom in 1938 and was sold at 2 shillings. By the 40th anniversary of Reader’s Digest, there were 40 international editions, in 13 languages and Braille, and it was the largest-circulating journal in Canada, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, Peru and other countries, with a total international circulation of 23 million.
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