Hot List 2012: Print Winners

Photo: Eli Meir Kaplan

The Atlantic
At a time when other magazines run controversial covers to keep the attention of consumers and the press, The Atlantic publishes buzzy yet trenchant pieces like Anne-Marie Slaughter’s “Why Women Can’t Have It All” (on today’s working woman) and Hanna Rosin’s “Boys on the Side” (on the hookup culture). Content like that has boosted site traffic 67 percent this year. All the while, The Atlantic’s fans still like their print. As circulation flatlines across magazinedom, this brand racked up 4.3 percent growth in the first half of this year.

The New Yorker

Editor of the Year James Bennet

The Atlantic

Hype is an ephemeral thing. In his six years as editor, the unassuming James Bennet has let his magazine’s singular brand of journalism speak for itself. And that it has—loudly. The manifesto on working women by Anne-Marie Slaughter became the most widely read story in the history of the pub and even inspired an online channel, The Sexes. For amassing a roster of top talent producing some of the best magazine work around, Bennet in May ascended from editor to editor in chief—the first person ever to hold that title at The Atlantic.
 

Publisher of the Year

Jay Lauf
svp and publisher, Atlantic Media

Smart, popular—and rich to boot. Atlantic Media is on track to record its third profitable year in a row, driven by a flourishing digital business. More than half the company’s ad revenue now comes from digital—unheard of in the magazine business—fueled by custom ad programs and big traffic that’s stoked by social sharing. Revenue from print and events is also on the rise. Success has its rewards for Jay Lauf, promoted this year to svp and group publisher of Atlantic Media (from vp, publisher of The Atlantic), adding responsibility for the company’s business startup, Quartz.