Magazine Newsroom Investment

Contributors

As the news magazines have cut staff, they have often added names to the “contributor” category of part-time or regular freelance writers under their mastheads. The use of contributors allows the magazine to hold on to some people who have walked away to pursue different options or those that have been let go as a cost-saving measure. The contributor list can also be a place to highlight the involvement of big-name journalists.

In one of the more interesting notes, the number of contributors at Time fell dramatically in the past year, from 40 to 24, as some of its better-known names left the box, including the former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan and the author/essayist Roger Rosenblatt. Some new names were added, though, including those of the New Republic writer Michelle Cottle and the former Time staff writer Joel Stein, both of whom are younger than the people they replaced. Cottle has become a part of the Washington punditocracy. Stein has developed into something of a personality outside of Time and has pursued options elsewhere. Having him as a contributor is a way for the magazine to hold onto him in some way.12

Newsweek’s contributors fell as well, though by just one, from 19 to 18. And there was much less coming and going on the list. Lorraine Ali went from contributing editor to senior writer in the masthead, but otherwise the list was unchanged.13

Number of Contributors in Staff Boxes Over Time

Time and Newsweek select years 1983 - 2005

Design Your Own Chart

Source: Project for Excellence in Journalism from magazine staff boxes

Conclusion

It may be that the days of big cuts are over at Time and Newsweek, at least for the time being. But the real question that hangs over the news magazine field is what the role of the news titles will be.

Time, Newsweek and the struggling U.S. News have not truly focused on providing a weekly summary of the week’s news for some time. They recap some news, but they concentrate primarily on fresh reporting on topics they elect to cover and a lot of “takes” on current news. Even though the topics they cover have changed — growing lighter in the case of Time and Newsweek — the format has not. And their staffs have been built to suit those goals, with reporters feeding writers who generate copy in each title’s voice.

If The Week continues to be successful with its news summary approach, however, it will likely be copied, and that means staffs could again take a hit. That’s not to say The Week’s approach will come to dominate the field. There are other staffing models available. The Economist, which uses stringers as well as staff, continues to thrive. So does the New Yorker with its contracted writers.

In the past the big news weeklies, particularly Time and Newsweek, have morphed as times have changed, gravitating toward the trends in the magazine business to help stem falling circulation. They have added business coverage, more entertainment news, even more opinion. If they look elsewhere in the news arena for clues about how to remake themselves, they will probably pick a little bit of several approaches. But those approaches, whatever pieces they take, will likely point to smaller staffs.