The Press: Ads for the Digest

DeWitt (& Lila) Wallace’s Reader’s Digest, world’s biggest monthly (circ. more than 10 million), has never taken a line of advertising.* Last week Publisher Wallace announced the end of a 33-year-old policy. Beginning with its April issue, the Reader’s Digest will print ads. Its income from readers is not enough to pay postwar costs. Even with book-publishing profits, deficits loomed.

The Digest surveyed its readers to find out whether they would rather have ads in the magazine, or pay more than 25¢ a copy. Answer: take ads.

Digest advertising will be limited to 32 pages an issue the first year, with liquor, tobacco and medical-remedy ads banned. Wallace figures on selling the maximum number of pages every month, at $26,500 a black-and-white page. 32x12x$26,500 = about $10 million.

*In 29 foreign-language editions, the Digest takes ads, makes money.