The Atlantic, which reduced its print issues to 10 in 2002, is returning to a full 12-month schedule, starting in January.
This seems counterintuitive at a time when most publications are heading in the opposite direction.
However, “the history of our magazine is filled with improbabilities, and today, more people subscribe to our print magazine than at any time since its birth in 1857,” says Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief, in announcing the change.
Goldberg adds, “The decision to restore our print publication frequency to pre-internet levels was not made lightly, but it also seemed logical, given the strength and reach of our magazine, and the wide acclaim it receives.
In another new development, The Atlantic is making “a dramatic new commitment to report stories at the intersection of national defense, technology, and global conflict,” Goldberg continues. “We will share details of this new investment in the weeks to come, and my hope is that The Atlantic becomes the premier destination for readers in search of education and illumination in these areas."
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He notes that "The Atlantic has a long tradition of journalistic excellence in these areas: Nathaniel Hawthorne was the magazine's Civil War correspondent; Alfred Thayer Mahan invented the idea of a global navy in our pages; Martha Gellhorn covered World War II for The Atlantic; Einstein and Oppenheimer argued about atomic war in essays and articles; essays by Niebuhr, Du Bois, and Kennan, among others, changed and challenged conceptions of American power."
Recently, The Atlantic brought on several new writers in an expansion of its health and science coverage.
Goldberg reports that 2024 “has been, so far, a very good year for The Atlantic.” Among other things, it passed the million-subscription threshold and is profitable again after running in the red for several years, he writes.