Jane Francisco, late of Chatelaine, wastes no time in putting stamp on Good Housekeeping

Jane Francisco has wasted no time in making her mark at Hearst's Good Housekeeping. According to a story in AdAge, the former editor-in-chief of Rogers flagship Chatelaine has already redesigned the look of the March issue of the magazine, the first with her name on the masthead. 

Her challenge is somehow to revitalize the 129-year-old magazine without cheesing off its 4.4 million existing subscribers and attracting newer, younger women readers who might not be expected to read a magazine with the word "Housekeeping" as part of its logo.

"I wanted someone who had an unexpected take, not someone who had potentially edited three of these magazines in the U.S. in the past," said David Carey, Hearst Magazines' president. "Jane has great instincts for transforming a legacy business and making it more modern." 

"Her mandate is not to turn the business upside down," he added. "But at the same time the role of all the women's lifestyle magazines that have a service component have to be constantly reexamined."

One example of hitting the ground running is that, in May, Good Housekeeping will  roll out its first All Star Beauty Awards, a biannual compilation of the best beauty products carrying the seal of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute.

"We target women who have a busy life," [said Franciso.] "We can deliver the one-stop shop if you can't make it through your shelter magazine or if you're interested in fashion trends you can use today."

Canadian Health & Lifestyle retools look and content for October issue

The recently new editor of Canadian Health & Lifestyle magazine, Beth Thompson, is leading with a new look and new columnists effective with its the October edition.

The strategy behind the revamped pub is to make health and wellness more accessible to Canadians, says Thompson in a release. “We’ve added new experts, who answer readers’ questions on everything from diabetes to PMS to skincare. 

“As well, we’ve enhanced our beauty and wellness sections to be more service-based, offering lots of tips and product selections to help readers navigate the drugstore aisle.”

Rogers Publishing bought the magazine in April 2012. The magazine at that time had a largely controlled distribution of 397,000, about 230,000 of which were distributed free through the Katz Group Canada Ltd. in its Rexall group of pharmacies  including Rexall, PharmaPlus, Guardian, IDA and The Medicine Shoppe. All carry the Rexall logo. 

According to the Spring 2013 PMB results, CH&L is the #1 health and lifestyle magazine in Canada with a total readership of over 2 million. In addition to its controlled circ, it is also available as an app on iTunes.

Starweek magazine requires subscribers to pay 50 cents a week

Changing times are evident in the redesign and re-launch of television magazine Starweek in the Toronto Star. Henceforth, subscribers have to opt in for the TV guide and agree to be billed 50 cents a week for it (about $26 a year), in addition to the normal subscription cost of the paper. 

Newspaper box and other single copies (which already cost more than home delivery) will continue to include the guide. 

As part of sweetening the offer to subscribers as it  moves to request, separate paid circulation, Starweek has been beefed up with expanded listings and features. It has had a measured circulation of 610,000 and readership of 859,000 (1.4 readers per copy) according to fall 2009 data from the Print Measurement Bureau.  It is not known how many readers will opt to receive it.