In the news: Time Inc. is pushing the ASME envelope in the name of ad revenue. Will it pay off?

In what many magazine insiders consider to be a bold move, Time Inc. has started unveiling Time and Sports Illustrated covers with tiny Verizon ads on the cover. Until now, magazines have avoided running ads on cover I because ASME guidelines have long discouraged it. According to AdAge.com, Time Inc. is also considering running ads in its tables of contents, another piece of magazine real estate typically reserved for editorial content only.

Could this mean more cover ads in the future? It's a risky move. ASME's first print magazine guideline, as stated on its website, is: "Don't Print Ads on Covers. The cover is the editor and publisher's brand statement. Advertisements should not be printed directly on the cover or spine." There's more at stake for magazines that breach this guideline than just ASME's disapproval; the organization could also shut violating issues out of its annual National Magazine Awards.

Read more about Time Inc.'s new cover ads here.

Also Notable

"Editing While Female"

In a recent Politico.com piece, Susan B. Glasser examines the plight of women in top newspaper editorial positions. She draws upon the meteoric rises and falls of executive editor Jill Abramson of the New York Times and editor-in-chief Natalie Nougayrède of Le Monde to make sense of her own experiences as former national news editor of the Washington Post and current editor of POLITICO magazine. Read the full article here.

A Bright Future for Print Food Magazines?

What role do food magazines play in an age when everyone fancies themselves food critics? Jessica Suss of American Journalism Review recently discussed the future of print food titles with editors, who believe that food magazines haven't lost their relevance in today's Yelping, "foodstagramming" world. Among those things smartphone food critics can't offer: professional food photography, the credibility of a long-standing print brand, and the "cookbook" experience of a monthly food magazine. Read more here.

Yahoo Movies Magazine

On May 15, Yahoo launched a new digital magazine, Yahoo Movies. The site, which will not be developed into a tablet/smartphone app, uses the same design as other Yahoo magazines launched in the past year. As with other Yahoo digital magazines, Yahoo Movies will feature native advertising content in addition to its trailers, movie news, and live streams. Read more here.

Add your comment.