 Cover of the March–April 2024 issue | |
| Editor | Steve George |
|---|---|
| Former editors | Becky Lang |
| Categories | Science |
| Frequency | 6 per year |
| Total circulation (December 2012) | 582,276[1] |
| First issue | 1980 |
| Company | LabX Media Group |
| Country | Canada |
| Based in | Midland, Ontario,Canada |
| Language | English |
| Website | discovermagazine |
| ISSN | 0274-7529 |
Discover is an Americangeneral audiencescience magazine launched in October 1980 byTime Inc. It is currently owned byLabX Media Group.
Discover was created primarily through the efforts ofTime magazine editorLeon Jaroff. He noticed that magazine sales jumped every time the cover featured a science topic. Jaroff interpreted this as a considerable public interest in science, and in 1971, he began agitating for the creation of a science-oriented magazine. This was difficult, as a former colleague noted, because "Selling science to people who graduated to be managers was very difficult".[2]
Jaroff's persistence finally paid off, andDiscover magazine published its first edition in 1980.[3]Discover was originally launched into a burgeoning market for science magazines aimed at educated non-professionals, intended to be easier to read thanScientific American but more detailed and science-oriented thanPopular Science.[4] Shortly after its launch, theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) launched a similar magazine calledScience 80 (not to be confused with its flagship academic journal,Science), and bothScience News andScience Digest changed their formats to follow the new trend.
During this period,Discover featured fairly in-depth science reporting on "hard science" and avoided fringe topics likeextraterrestrial intelligence. Most issues contained essays by well-known scientists—such asStephen Jay Gould,Jared Diamond, andStephen Hawking. Another common article was a biography, often linked with mentions of other scientists working in the field. The "Skeptical Eye" column sought to uncoverpop-science scams, and was the medium whereJames Randi released the results ofProject Alpha. Jaroff said that it was the most-read section at its launch.[4]
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The sudden appearance of so many magazines in the same market space inevitably led to some falling by the wayside, andDiscover was left largely alone in its market space by the mid-1980s; it nevertheless decided to appeal to a wider audience by including articles onpsychology andpsychiatry. Jaroff told the editor-in-chief that these were not "solid sciences", and was sent back toDiscover's parent,Time, Inc.[5] "Skeptical Eye" and other columns disappeared, and articles covered more controversial, speculative topics (like "How the Universe Will End"). The new format was a great success, and the new format remained largely unchanged for the next two decades.
Gilbert Rogin, aSports Illustrated editor, was brought in 1985 to reviveDiscover. In 1986, Time purchased the subscription lists of the shuttered magazinesScience Digest andScience 86 from their publishers. Circulation for the magazine reached 925,000 by May 1987 with revenue for 1986 being $6.9 million, but annual net loss was $10 million.[6]
In January 1987, Time appointed a newDiscover publisher, Bruce A. Barnet, previously publisher ofPicture Week test magazine from August 1985 to replace James B. Hayes, who was appointed publisher ofFortune.[7]
The magazine changed hands several times. In 1987, Time, Inc. soldDiscover to Family Media, the owners ofHealth,Golf Illustrated,Homeowner,1,001 Home Ideas andWorld Tennis, for $26 million. From January to July 1991, Discover magazine lost 15% of its advertising while still remaining profitable. Family Media closed down while suspending publication of all its magazines and placing them up for sale. Family Media's lastDiscover issue was August 1991, with a circulation of 1.1 million copies.[8]
In September 1991,The Walt Disney Company bought the magazine for itsDisney Publishing's Magazine Group. The magazine's main office was moved to the Magazine Group office in Burbank while leaving one third behind in New York in a small editorial and advertising office. Disney was able to retain Family Media's editor-in-chief for the magazine, Paul Hoffman.[8] Disney doubled the magazine's photography and its content budget to overcome skipping two issues in Family Media's shutdown and ownership change. In 1993, Disney Magazine Publishing Inc. decided to launch a trade advertising campaign designed with advertising firm Ziff Marketing to raise awareness in the advertising field that the magazine is an accessible general interest magazine in the science category.[9]
In October 2005,Bob Guccione, Jr., founder ofSpin andGear magazines, and someprivate equity partners purchased the magazine from Disney. Guccione was CEO and oversaw a redesign for the April 2006 issue. However, Guccione was ousted as CEO in October 2007 in what was described as "a falling-out over philosophical differences with his financial backers".[10] Henry Donahue, Discover Media's chief financial officer, became the new CEO. In 2008, he also assumed the role of publisher. In October 2008,Corey Powell,Discover's executive editor, became editor-in-chief.[11] As of April 2009,[update] the magazine published combined issues in January/February and July/August, for a total of ten issues a year.[citation needed]
In 2010 the magazine was sold toKalmbach Publishing, whose books and magazines are generally aboutcraft and hobby subjects such asmodeling (Model Railroader,FineScale Modeler,Scale Auto,Classic Toy Trains,Garden Railways,Model Retailer),beadwork (BeadStyle,Bead&Button,Art Jewelry), and the outdoors (Birder's World,Cabin Life,AmericanSnowmobiler). It has one other science magazine,Astronomy.[2] In August 2012 Kalmbach announced thatDiscover would be moving fromNew York City to Kalmbach's headquarters inWisconsin in January 2013. In December 2012, Stephen C. George became the editor-in-chief.[12] Becky Lang was the editor-in-chief until mid-2020.
On May 1, 2024, Kalmbach Media announced the sale of most of its titles to Firecrown Media, as well as its Kalmbach Books division and related e-commerce sites, leavingDiscover magazine as its sole remaining publication.[13] and on November 8, 2024, LabX Media Group acquiredDiscover from Kalmbach.[14]
TheDiscover website includes a collection of blogs related to science, includingCosmic Variance,Carl Zimmer's The Loom, andMelissa Lafsky's Reality Base.
From 1983–1990,PBS airedDiscover: The World of Science, a monthly hour-longnews magazine featuring topics from the publication and hosted byPeter Graves.