• Bloomberg Businessweek, Wednesday, March 20, 2013 1:16 PM

"Some 88 years after Harold Ross launched The New Yorker with the pitch that it was 'not edited for the old lady in Dubuque,' Iowa is turning into a surprising seat of power" with the continued success of Meredith Corp. despite digital competition, writes Felix Gillette. "This is the revenge of the old lady from Dubuque—only she’s from Des Moines,” is the pertinent quote here, from Isaiah Wilner, the author of "The Man Time Forgot: A Tale of Genius, Betrayal, and the Creation of Time Magazine."

Gillette provides a thorough, fascinating analysis of Meredith's winning "devotion to service journalism,"  firm eye on the bottom line, and leadership in the "breakdown between content and marketing," as one source puts it. And though Meredith's recent courtship of  Time Inc. has cooled for the moment, CEO Stephen Lacy has "indicated that his company's interest in Time was just beginning, and that Meredith covets a range of 'magazine-based brands,'" writes Gillette.

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