Last Updated: January 26, 2000
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Sunday magazines
For more than half of U.S. newspapers, their Sunday magazine is called
USA Weekend or Parade.
The two compete hard for newspaper distribution contracts, touting their
standing features, special annual editions and promotional support.
But publishers and editors are slow to switch their business. Rather
than the content, it’s generally the personal comfort factor of the editor,
or more frequently the publisher, with one of the magazines that seals
the decision.
Several editors didn’t want to be quoted comparing the content of USA
Weekend and Parade.
“They are kind of vanilla. They rarely offend or excite, but they are
an entertaining kind of read,” said one editor whose paper recently switched.
The content is a lot alike. Parade is perceived to have an edge with
its brand-name recognition, while USA Weekend is viewed by some editors
as more up-to-date and youth-oriented.
But when it comes down to comparing them, “people tend to get accustomed
to one or the other,” said Hazel Reinhardt, a newspaper consultant.
“The challenge is getting publishers and editors to make a change. It
may be seen as more trouble than it’s worth,” said Marcia Bullard, president,
CEO and editor of USA Weekend. “Actually,” she said, “the reaction from
readers is mild.”
For instance, in Biloxi, Miss., the paper received fewer than 50 letters
after switching, Bullard said.
Bullard and Howard Hoffman, Parade’s vice president/Southwestern manager
for newspaper relations, agree that most often the publisher, not the editor,
makes the final decision between Parade and USA Weekend.
Parade is still dominant, but USA Weekend is growing. Parade enjoys
a 37 million circulation, making it the most widely read magazine in America.
USA Weekend reports 22 million circulation. However, in the past five years
90 newspapers have switched to USA Weekend while 24 have switched to Parade.
In the early years, Parade had the big cities locked up and Family Weekly,
the forerunner of USA Weekend, was found most often in smaller cities and
towns.
Since being purchased by Gannett, USA Weekend has won some urban contracts.
Parade’s Hoffman points to the Atlanta area as not uncommon, with Parade
in The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution and USA Weekend in
the 14 papers ringing the city.
Competition aside, sales materials promote the combined readership of
Parade and USA Weekend. The penetration of mainland markets covered by
the two is almost complete. Together, they deliver the top 25 newspaper
markets to advertisers.
“The real driver behind their success is what they can deliver to national
advertisers,” said Mike Smith, managing director of the Northwestern University
Media Management Center.
Smith calls both magazines hugely successful, with each in the top 20
of consumer magazines. USA Weekend is “the low-price provider,” he said,
with less-expensive ad rates.
There are few overlapping markets. According to 1999 spring MRI, 89
percent of Parade readers do not read USA Weekend and 80 percent of USA
Weekend readers do not read Parade.
Like newspapers, the majority of the national newspaper magazine revenue
comes from advertisers. More than half of the advertising is mutual, run
in both USA Weekend and Parade.
This year, USA Weekend has taken a small lead in ad pages. It’s up by
3.5 percent to 412 pages vs. Parade’s 1 percent drop to 401 pages, according
to Media Industry Newsletter. Last year Parade had 27 more ad pages.
Both offer newspapers hooks for young readers.
Parade has made the biggest outreach with its React magazine, which
it offers only to Parade-subscribing newspapers. After five years, React
is in 225 newspapers with over 4 million circulation. Targeted to middle-schoolers,
most newspapers use React in their Newspapers in Education programs, Hoffman
said.
“We want to create the next generation of newspaper readers. We hope
it’s profitable at some point,” Hoffman said.
USA Weekend’s Bullard said, “React is a factor for some papers when
they make a decision. We have looked at developing a similiar publication.
... Instead, we make an attempt to bring young readers into the main paper.”
Since 1989, USA Weekend has redefined its editorial mission to appeal
to the younger reader, she said. The target is the Generation X and Baby
Boomer reader, approximately ages 25-44. Bullard said the primary reason
is to help newspapers attract a younger readership.
Bullard emphasizes USA Weekend’s NIE program, which goes weekly this
fall, and the magazine’s teen survey.
USA Weekend can be inserted Friday, Saturday or Sunday; Parade restricts
distribution to Sunday.
“We think papers should have the flexibility to do what’s right for
their readers. For us, Sunday is better for our advertisers, but we want
to be more flexible,” Bullard said. About 15 percent of USA Weekend’s circulation
is Friday and Saturday.
Not surprisingly, Parade’s sales pitch focuses a lot on Sunday newspaper
readership and profitability.
While both national magazines try to distance themselves from deaths
of independent Sunday magazines, Parade’s sales presentation lists 25 top-100
Sunday newspapers that stopped publishing a local magazine since 1985.
NMC’s Smith said the consolidation of retail is a factor in failure
of many local Sunday magazines. “The retailers can get what they want ROP.
They don’t have to pay Sunday magazine rates to get good color.”
Bischoff is assistant managing editor of the Houston Chronicle.
