What is the way forward for a 155-year old-magazine that once published Emerson and Longfellow? Digital first and last, with ancillary revenue from conferences. The magazine, edited by James Bennet, is still very much in the middle of the conversation, but these days it is prized mostly for bringing luster to digital assets likeTheAtlantic.com, Atlantic Wire, Atlantic Cities, and beginning Monday, Quartz.
Mr. Bradley shared the financials that suggested that revenue at the various Atlantic properties had doubled in the last four years, from $20 million to $40 million, and that the company was profitable for the third year in a row. Digital revenue, he said, now makes up 65 percent of all advertising revenue. (Even though Atlantic Media is a private company, I believe Mr. Bradley; he was always honest when he was losing gobs of money, so I have no reason to doubt him now that he says they are in the black).
“It’s become very, very clear to me that digital trumps print, and that pure digital, without any legacy costs, massively trumps print,” Mr. Bradley said.
I found this article after searching about qz.com, a new blog-like website that seemed to be full of pretty great articles. Of course it shared a lineage with the Atlantic.