2024 Magazine Editorial Calendar Deadlines Happening NOW

In this update to Tin Shingle’s exclusive Editorial Calendar Collection, we have added new publications (new to our collection, but established in the publishing world!) and believe it or not, the Editorial Deadlines for Fall 2024 are happening NOW!

Keep in mind, these are only Editorial Calendars. There are more media ideas for you to pitch to in Tin Shingle’s Media Contact Library. In our Media Contact Library, you can search by “Beauty Products” or “Home Design” for instance, and get search results of people who work for publications who identify with that niche.

About Our Editorial Calendar Collection

For all of our Editorial Calendars, we either get them from the magazine for the upcoming year, or if it hasn’t been released yet (but they still know the themes), we do our scientific study of researching the past 2 years of what that magazine published. If we see consistency in the broad theme, then we make a prediction. For example, if Essence Magazine did “Women In Business” in October for the past 2 years, then we predict that to be the broad theme again for 2024.

However, the utmost important tool you have access to is the publication and submission date through 2024. You are able to determine where a magazine is in their production cycle so you can pitch them a timely story angle. There are SO MANY ideas you can pitch. Knowing the broad theme is helpful, but not the most important aspect to your pitching. Think big! Think broadly!

Sneak Peak At Upcoming Editorial Deadlines

All Animals

All Animals is the award-winning magazine of the Humane Society of the United States, the nation’s most effective animal protection organization.
EDITORIAL CALENDAR PLANNING NOW FOR: Fall 2024
You can find out the best submission date by viewing it in Tin Shingle’s Editorial Calendar Collection!

All Recipes 

Bring big flavor to the end of summer and say hello to cooler temps, back to school, and comfort food season.
EDITORIAL CALENDAR PLANNING FOR NOW: You’ll have the publication dates, which is key because this magazine works on articles months in advance. Knowing these dates is how you will pitch really timely story ideas that can work for most any broad themes and Noble, let an idea hit you, and then pitch the magazine!

Better Homes & Gardens

The Style Maker Issue, The Fall Issue, The Thanksgiving and Gatherings Issue, and The HolidayIssue
EDITORIAL CALENDAR PLANNING FOR NOW: 
You can find out the best submission date by viewing it in Tin Shingle’s Editorial Calendar Collection!

All Of The Editorial Calendars

Members of Tin Shingle at the All Access Level have instant access to ALL of our editorial calendars. We currently have the editorial calendars from over 100 publications for 2024! All searchable by Title and Area of Interest! Browse through and let your inspiration take hold!

All editorial themes are from editors themselves and are subject to change.

Publisher Ends Print Runs Of Parents, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Health, Eating Well, and People en Español

Dotdash (formerly known as About.com), the company who bought the publisher Meredith, has decided to take 6 magazines out of print circulation, and focus them as a digital brand only. Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, Health, EatingWell, Parents, and People en Español will no longer be on the printed page, and 200 employees who make the print production possible will be laid off, as reported by Hollywood Reporter.

According to a statement from DotDash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel to staff published by Hollywood Reporter: “We have said from the beginning, buying Meredith was about buying brands, not magazines or websites. It is not news to anyone that there has been a pronounced shift in readership and advertising from print to digital, and as a result, for a few important brands, print is no longer serving the brand’s core purpose. As such, we are going to move to a digital-only future for these brands, which will help us to unlock their full potential.”

It seems Vogel doesn’t understand, or undervalues, the relationship a person has with their medium of choice when consuming content. Be it a printed page or screen. With screen-times frequently blamed for people’s insomnia, blurred vision, or heightened distraction, he sees promise in their light. For parents in doctors offices who choose to read a magazine instead of their phone when with their children in the waiting room, where often there are signs posted saying “Please don’t use your cell phones,” reading just got a little bit harder.

Vogel continued in his statement: “As such, we are going to move to a digital-only future for these brands, which will help us to unlock their full potential. These brands are among our most successful, important, and fastest growing digital properties – the online audience for Parents, InStyle, and EatingWell are each up over 40% year-over-year – and all of these brands have a bright future.”

The CEO insisted the cut is not related to saving or bleeding money. “Today’s step is not a cost savings exercise and it is not about capturing synergies or any other acquisition jargon, it is about embracing the inevitable digital future for the affected brands.”

He described improvements to print runs of their existing paper magazines: “Print remains core to Dotdash Meredith. From PEOPLE to BHG to Southern Living to WOOD, and all our other beloved print publications, we continue to provide incredible value to readers in print, and we will proudly print over 350 million magazines in 2022. Beginning today, we will be investing in our print-forward brands and products: everything from enhancing paper quality and trim sizes, to ensuring world-class editorial and beautiful photography.”

What Does This Mean For Businesses, Artists & Activists Seeking PR In Print?

Hang in there, dear creator. Digital publishing will remain fast with high turnover of articles. The long-lead time of 3-6 months might get trimmed to 1-3 months. Writers will continue to write for several publications at once. When you pitch a writer, keep in mind that your story angle for that pitch may be used for another time in another publication, as reporters constantly look for story ideas and businesses, artists and activists to fill out those stories with examples.

The Editorial Calendars for the print edition will of course not be produced. Tin Shingle has made note of that in our Editorial Calendar Collection Database, for those searching for these titles and not seeing them. Keeping a list of the best fits of writers for your genre remains a great way to increase your chances for sending a really well-crafted pitch to the right person. Use Tin Shingle’s exclusive PR Planner & Tracker to make note of who these writers are so that you can write pitches to them.

Not sure on what to say in an email pitch? Join Tin Shingle and participate in our private Pitch Whisperer Group (via Google Group and in TuneUp Office Hours webinar calls) to have like minds review your pitch or give feedback on direction before you send.

You can do it!

Hello!! Vision Boarding Turned Chapter Book To Leave 2021 For 2022

Hellllllo!

What a holiday season! Filled with extreme highs and lows for some. At Tin Shingle, we have always liked setting resolutions. Call them what you will - visions, intentions, goals - whatever. Declaring them makes us accountable, even if it's 3 years later. Once started, we can pat ourselves on the back, saying: "See!? I knew you'd start that someday, and that day was yesterday. Good job."

One of the themes for us (well, me, Katie, the owner of Tin Shingle) going into 2022 was "honesty." Honesty with one's self. Honesty can hit in many forms. From the music you listen to in public, to how you spend your New Years Eve.

Where does "honesty" fit in? Some people like to party, decorate, have lots of people over, cook, etc. I'm just more quiet, and admitting that can be hard. It’s not meant to crash someone else’s preferences of how they like to spend the evening. But if mutual admiration for different styles can be found, then that is ideal.

For me, I prefer to be under water, turning around in the current as the big wave passes overhead. Once the wave hits the shore, I emerge, having felt its pull from underwater, playing with the rushing energy from underneath.

Once the wave crashes on land, the emerging happens. Call it emerging like a mermaid, where her tail turns to legs, and she's ready to leave the sea to walk on shore, exploring curiosities for the next creation to fulfill a purpose. Put on fresh silver glitter for the next day. I don't watch the countdown shows; I don't call people; I don't text as many people as I can type in 3 minutes until the next day.

The day is spent prepping: recycling filmy plastics, paying bills, paying invoices, declaring income goals for the new year; digging into paint; spreading new rubber cement; buying and playing with new watercolor markers.

Vision Boarding Turned Chapter Book

My neighbor and I (and our daughters) spent the evening vision boarding. When I used to have an office on Main Street in my town, one of the last events I had was a Vision Boarding Day for the community. Anyone could come in and cut up my magazine collection, use glitter, beads, etc.

My old bar/desk is in my living room now, so we gathered round and got to cutting. Each person was in their process. Talking to each other, but in our own plans. My plan evolved from a single board to a thick, lined journal. I'd wanted plain paper, but all the store had was lined. I figured I'd like the effect and could take notes.

This happened. The single board evolved into a vision journal for the year. Open for anyone to read. A friend wanted to see the results, so I made her a video. You can watch it here. My neighbor and I have discussed meeting up once a month to revisit the journal boards with new clippings/discoveries.

Highlights

Reading the highlights/intentions/resolutions in the video may be difficult. Therefore, here they are:

• Sketching
  Sketch anything. Just let your hand go and play with those art supplies.

• Boarding
  Keep vision boarding throughout the year.

• Newspaper Homework Time + Clipping
  I love reading the paper! But I need to save some of the articles for visual stimulation of new articles.

• Scheduling The Work
  I run 3 companies. Need to finally commit to mini-schedules to show up at each of them, and not be consumed by one.

• Pictures: Album Assigning + Printing
  Assign the pictures of my family to albums and print them all.

• Play With My Kids
  Sit and play with my kids more. Just sit there and do nothing or play their game or sit while they color or play Fortnite.

• Phoenix Rising: Buy a Building
  I once rented an office. But I want to own the building.

• Stay Strong + Fit
  Ever since my Pelvic Prolapse diagnosis, I have been so thankful that I started running every day and doing Pilates once per week to save my body. The extra benefits have been unexpected and amazing.

• Accept
  Practice accepting things and feelings into my life. People give, now it needs to be absorbed.

• Sunday Magazining
  For years I said I'd carve time on Sundays to only read magazines and not go on social.

• $7,000/month Income
  This is what the bank wants if I am to buy a building. Therefore, this is what the bank shall have.

• Maybe the Book: Children’s Book
  Have a couple ideas for a children's book - one with a friend. Go deeper and explore it.

• Plantings/Cuttings/Succulents
  Get more live plants in the home. Before kids, I had live plants. After kids, they were too much to take care of and water. I need them back.

Watch the video of this vision board/journal here.

What did you do? What do you like to do? Share in the Comments on Tin Shingle's blog.

Media Monitoring And Planning Ahead: Men's Journal

Catching up with Men’s Journal. Every article was pandemic or protest related, with a series on men in Minneapolis rebuilding their businesses, building community, training Black youth to gain certifications in outdoor activities like mountain biking paddling, etc. (paid for by Ramsey County) so that Black people might be more comfortable learning from someone who looks like them, and providing food for those in need. Cooking and gathering for social distance, and the usual gear recommendations that Men’s Journal is known for. The Holiday Gift Guides were in this issue, with the usual themes.

For ideas on how to pitch the media, join Tin Shingle to get access to our Media Contact Idea Center, and start a conversation with fellow members in Tin Shingle’s Google Group.

*Remember: print magazines work 3-6 months in advance. In pandemic times, changes to editorial may be squeezed in to reflect a big, huge change. But generally, think a few months out.

Media Contact Update: Sally Holmes Named Editor-in-Chief of U.S. Marie Claire

Photo Credit: Marie Claire

On September 15, Sally Holmes was named Editor-in-Chief for U.S. Marie Clair. Holmes has been with Marie Claire since 2018, initially as the digital director and then executive director.

“I love that I'm stepping into a role held by amazing women I’ve long admired,” said Holmes. “Marie Claire is an incredible global brand that at its core is all about empowering women, telling impactful stories and connecting with its audience of smart, stylish, ambitious women. At this critical moment in our country, I’m honored to lead a brand that has the power to inspire meaningful change, amplify voices and galvanize readers to vote.”

Sally Holmes has been updated in our Media Contact database!

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Skim Through Tin Shingle's Media Contacts Database

Tin Shingle's Media Contact Database makes your research a little easier. Do you want to be featured in the pages of Wired Magazine? Allure Magazine? Or more of a spiritual magazine?  You can do that with our easy-to-use list that includes ways to search by subject or media outlet. See how to search for media contacts HERE.

It’s easy! Log into your member account at Tin Shingle, and go to the Media Contact Idea Center. From there, you'd see this easy box that says "Areas of Interest," and you'd start typing LA or Los Angeles. A list of suggestions would begin coming up.

Traditional Home Magazine Is Back! In Print Subscriptions

Photo Credit: Folio Mag

In mid-July, Meredith Magazines announced that Traditional Home Magazine is once again selling subscriptions. This happened a year after Traditional Home was converted to a funded-model. “We have found with this model that the social channels are actually more important than having a website that we put a lot of expense against,” says Doug Olson, president of Meredith Magazines.

Just in time, the Fall issue, will have an annual subscription option of $20 and $12.99 for cover price. The pricing was based on the magazine’s 850,000 subscribers.

It is different from the more traditional, ad-driven models that the company’s largest titles participate in, such as Better Homes & Gardens or Shape, which carry million dollar rate bases but can be subscribed to for less than $1 per issue.

“We’re in this business that can be unpredictable, but what it comes down to is that these are premium products,” says Jill Waage, Traditional Home Editor. “It just proves the point that consumers do want this content in this print format, and they’re willing to pay for it. It shows a level of engagement with the consumer that goes all the way to their pocketbook, you know? And that’s really reassuring.”

Lowrider To Cease Printing

It has recently been reported that Lowrider, an “icon of Chicano culture for more than 40 years” will cease publication by the end of 2019. The reason, according to MotorTrend Group President Alex Wellen was that “…we need to be where our audience is…with 3 out of every 4 of our visitors favoriting digital content over print.”

Founded in 1977 by Sonny Madrid, Lowrider drew its inspiration from the East Los Angeles Chicano magazine called Con Safos, examining the socio-political concerns affecting Chicanos on and off campus at San Jose State University. Madrid’s goal was to connect the independent lowriding communities by distributing the magazine in his 1954 Chevrolet sedan, and expanding the magazines to Southern California, New Mexico and Texas. National distributors wanted nothing to do with Lowrider, so the staff was tasked with the responsibility of finding new markets and distribution.

This is not the first time that Lowrider folded. Financial struggles forced the magazine to end in 1985, until former staffer Alberto Lopez resurrected it in 1988, moving its headquarters to the heart of the lowrider community in Southern California. As Lowrider’s audience grew, so did its empire. Boasting an average monthly circulation of 210,000 copies, Lowrider expanded into international spinoff titles, a music label, merchandise and sponsored its own car shows across the country.

In addition to Lowrider, the following publications will also discontinue printing. 

• 4-Wheel & Off-Road 

• Automobile 

• Car Craft 

• Chevy High Performance 

• Classic Trucks  

• Diesel Power 

• Hot Rod Deluxe  

• Jp 

• Mopar Muscle 

• Muscle Car Review 

• Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords 

• Mustang Monthly 

• Street Rodder 

• Super Chevy  

• Super Street 

• Truck Trend  

• Truckin’ 

• Vette

Getting The Scoop On Big Print Publications From A Print Veteran Publisher

Had the privilege of meeting a real life magazine publisher, Beth McDonough, formerly with the designer favorite magazine, Traditional Home. We talked shop, which for me is giddy because I’m just a babe in the magazine world. Actually I’m not even in the magazine world, as I’m a veteran of digital. As a blogger, I knew how to out-rank web pages of glossy magazines. Thanks to their overly tight controls of how they tried to keep users on their websites, I understood how Google worked, and why Google wanted the more links off the page as possible - a signal of a truly helpful web page.

Today, as corporate print magazines reduce their print schedules, and require consumers to go to the store to pick up from the shelf, I’m still mind boggled as to why that is a good idea. Sounds like veteran print magazine extremely talented editorial staff also don’t see it as a good idea. And the profit sheets of these big corporate publication mergers also don’t see it as a good idea.

Thoughtfulness of a good reading and connecting experience is not factored into the big picture strategies coming from the C Suite, and as readers, we can tell. I’m so lucky to live in the same place as this veteran publisher, and that I could speak to her in real life at one of our local cafes, Ella’s Bellas. Print lives. Advertisers do want to see their branding in print. I am more hopeful than ever at the rise of niche media like mine here at Tin Shingle and at A Little Beacon Blog. The independent publications are going to do well if they know how to bottle this Advertiser enthusiasm. 

EBONY Magazine In Flux - Print Magazine Folds, Digital Seems To Continue

EBONY Magazine and its spin off political sister magazine Jet, reportedly fired its online editorial staff without pay, as reported by the New York Daily News and The Root, and suspended the print publication. So far, Spring 2019 has been the last issue.

The Background

Founded by John H. Johnson in 1945, EBONY Magazine was the source for African American culture, news and perspective. When Johnson died in 2005, his daughter Linda Johnson Rice took the helm. By that time, the shifts in media publishing were starting to prove too volatile for survival. Rice sold the Johnson Publishing Company building in 2010 to Columbia College, moving the staff to more affordable offices.

In 2016, both EBONY and Jet were sold to The Clear View Group (CVG), an African American investment group bringing over 25 years of experience in running successful corporations.

#EbonyOwes Social Campaign Emerges In Defense Of Unpaid Freelance Writers

In 2017, a social media campaign #EbonyOwes forced Clear View Group’s owners Michael Gibson and Willard Jackson into the public eye for not paying their freelance writers, as reported by Vice. Fifty freelance writers were owed a collective amount of $200K. In response, EBONY made an effort to pay them with $18K offered to 11 writers, 3 of whom were paid in full. The National Writers Union stepped in, taking EBONY Media and its parent company CVG to court.

On February 27, 2018, the remaining 43 writers finally settled their lawsuit with Ebony Magazine, according to Kinja. Ebony Media, Clear View Group and the National Writers Union came to an agreement that all unpaid invoices would be compensated by the end of the year in four quarterly payments. But by October 2018, Ebony missed its third quarter payment. After another lawsuit and more social media shaming, CVG made the final payment by December 7, 2018 - three weeks before the final deadline.

In November 2018, the company suspended dental, vision and disability overage, suggesting the possibility of reinstating benefits in June 2019. But on January 3, 2019, all other medical benefits were cancelled, including HSA plans.

…And Then Print…And Then Payroll…

In May of 2019, CVG informed their staff that the print edition of EBONY would be suspended on May 24th. On May 30th, a memo informed staffers that payroll would be delayed. Some employees have mentioned that their 401(k) contributions deducted from their paychecks were never added to their accounts, according to the New York Post.

The magazine cover created by Lawrence Ross for TheRoot.com, as a parody. Ebony Magazine took TheRoot.com to court alleging trademark infringement. It was ruled that the satirical cover was protected under the First Amendment.
Image Credit: Lawrence Ross

EBONY Magazine Loses Lawsuit Over Satirical and Critical Magazine Cover

Ebony Magazine lost a lawsuit against TheRoot.com, for allegedly infringing on Ebony’s trademark due to this magazine cover parody created by Lawrence Ross. It was ruled that the satirical cover was protected under the First Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York wrote, “Each of the 5 headlines on the Accused Image is harshly and unambiguously critical of EBONY Magazine —sarcastically purporting to preview (non-existent) stories about: the magazine being a ‘deadbeat,ʼthe magazineʼs owners ‘show[ing] us howʼ to cheat black writers, ‘100 Ways Ebony Doesnʼt Pay Writers,ʼ the magazineʼs owners as ‘Slow Pay Kings of Black Biz,ʼ and ‘Thousands in Back Payʼ owed by the magazine. It is difficult to imagine any reader experiencing confusion as to whether or not EBONY Magazine sponsored or endorsed a cover that portrays it in such a negative light. . . .” 

Former EBONY Publisher Files For Bankruptcy

In April 2019, former EBONY publisher Johnson Publishing Company filed for bankruptcy, which does not impact the publication, according to EBONY as quoted in Black Press USA.  They are in the process of selling off all remaining assets, including an archive of photos chronicling black American history and Fashion Fair cosmetics, the first cosmetic line to address the beauty needs of the African American community it retained from Linda Johnson Rice.

Photo Credit: Screenshot from the article at The Root.

Photo Archives Of African American People And History Are Unsecured

The photo archives were once valued at $46 million in 2015, according to TheSource.com. The photo archives included photos of entertainers, civil rights leaders and prominent African American businessmen and women. According to The New York Post: “The archive includes one of the most dramatic photos of the civil rights era: the badly disfigured body of 14-year-old Emmett Till laid out in a coffin. The Chicago native was accused of offending a white woman during a trip to Mississippi, which led to barbed wire being tied around his neck before he was thrown naked into a river with a 75-pound weight tied to him. The photo by David Jackson appeared first in Jet in 1955 and became a searing reminder of racism in the Deep South at the time.”

Financier Mellody Hobson and her husband George Lucas (yes, that George Lucas) are attempting to take control over the archive according to The Root, as it was used as collateral when Capital Holdings V, a company Hobson and Lucas control, lent JPC $12 million dollars back in 2015. The photo collection is set to go up for auction the week of July 15, 2019, likely in Chicago.

Entertainment Weekly Magazine Goes Monthly - But Keeps Weekly In Title For Now

Entertainment Weekly magazine will go monthly, yet retain the title of Weekly, according to Adweek. The publication, part of the Meredith family of print publications, will start this new schedule in August under new Editor In Chief JD Heyman. The July 5th issue will be the last weekly publication. The new EID is coming from People Magazine. The former EID, Henry Goldblatt, has been at a Entertainment Weekly for 17 years, according to Variety, as highlighted by Adweek.

What Does That Mean For Businesses Looking For Features?

The print publication cycle will slow down a bit, now that there aren’t weekly magazines to churn out. As for an Editorial Calendar, they may release a broad theme to sell to advertisers in a broader way. But, we don’t recommend you to pitch by Editorial Calendar theme anyway because there are way to many ideas out there to wait for a broad theme. 

Tin Shingle will inquire as to what their new print publication cycle will look like, so that we know which months they are working on when. We will also keep our eyes on media moves for those coming and going for our Media Contact Library.