Readers Digest is a general interest family magazine published in the United States. It is published ten times a year and is sold in more than a thousand stores. Founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace, the magazine now has more than 190 million copies in print. The magazine has won several awards over the years. In addition to being a great source for information, Readers Digest also features stories and reviews of a wide variety of subjects.
Reiman Publications
The merger between Reiman Publications and Readers Digrest will create a broader customer base and expanded product offerings. Both companies publish 20 different magazines, and together they have approximately 80 million customers. Readers Digest also owns several other brands, including Books Are Fun and Reiman. Readers Digest has also made a transition from print to digital products and subscription boxes. The resulting business model will be similar to that of its parent company, but with a new emphasis on online media.
Reiman Publications has a history of publishing cooking and gardening magazines. It also publishes nostalgia and country living magazines. It also publishes several books a year. The deal is valued at more than $300 million, and is expected to add more than 70 million to Readers Digest’s EBITDA. Despite the large size of the acquisition, it is unclear how many books will be published.
Lila Bell Acheson
The Canadian-born publisher Lila Bell Acheson, who died at age 94 in 1984, co-founded Readers Digest magazine with her husband DeWitt Wallace. The magazine’s success led to a variety of other products, including children’s books, direct mail-order books, and an international edition. Lila Bell Acheson was a pioneer in many fields and was an inspiration to many women.
Acheson was born in Canada, but spent most of her life in the United States. In her early 20s, she met DeWitt Wallace, a young man who wanted to publish a magazine that brought together general interest stories. Acheson and Wallace began working on the new magazine together, and the two eventually married. Their children were born on April 9, 1924. Lila Bell Acheson in Readers Digest
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DeWitt Wallace
For years, the prestigious American magazine had been based in New York City, but that changed when a young journalist named DeWitt Wallace decided to start a magazine of his own. Wallace studied magazine articles in a public library in St. Paul, Minnesota, copying excerpts from articles. He prepared a prototype Readers Digest issue, containing 31 of these articles. In the early 1930s, Wallace advertised his magazine as one that would have “enduring value” and “perseverance.” This idea proved to be a success, as the Digest reached a circulation of three million by 1939.
The story of DeWitt Wallace is intertwined with the history of Readers Digest. James Playsted Wood’s Of Lasting Interest: A History of the Readers Digest, written with the cooperation of the company’s management, is a great account of Wallace’s time. Another book about Wallace’s career is Samuel A. Schreiner Jr.’s The Condensed World of Readers Digest, which also gives readers a more intimate view of Wallace. Finally, John Heidenry’s biography of Lila and DeWitt Wallace is another great read.
Lila Bell Wallace
Lila Bell Wallace was a magazine publisher who died on May 8, 1984. She was 94 years old and was born in Manitoba, Canada. She was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister and grew up in the Midwest. She attended the University of Oregon and earned a degree in education. She worked for two years as a teacher and for the Young Women’s Christian Association. After graduating from the University of Oregon, Wallace married DeWitt Wallace, who would later become the co-founder of Reader’s Digest. Wallace died in 1984, and the magazine is still in print.
Wallace was the editor-in-chief for many years and was involved in the selection of many Digest articles. The couple expanded the business into a three-storey red brick building in Pleasantville, New York. Bell oversaw the interior and exterior design, and was responsible for the garden at the office. Other notable features of the Wallace Digest offices included a tea-garden, expensive artwork on the walls, and space for growing vegetables. The office also had French glass doors in some cabins.
