The Effects of Hearst Corporation’s Magazineson International MarketsRenee Troy-MebaneJenna C. Wise

Queens University of Charlotte

Introduction• Purpose

▫To explore, using transnational media management theory, how Hearst Corporation’s international magazines, particularly Cosmopolitan Magazine, affect the international cultures in which they are marketed and how those markets affect Hearst Corporation’s publications

• Justification▫This inquiry is relevant to understanding the ways

transnational media organizations export biased content to international markets and how foreign markets reinforce and support those dominant ideologies through local productions.

Hearst Corporation• 1887: William Randolph Hearst starts a newspaper publishing

company▫ Over the course of his ownership, Hearst experiments with every

aspect of newspapers: layout, photography, color press, comics, editorial crusades

• 1920s-1930s: Hearst is largest media conglomerate in the world

• 1951: W.R. Hearst dies▫ W.R. Hearst wills that 99.9% of company’s common stock given to two

charitable trusts controlled by a board of trustees comprised of 5 family members and 8 non-family members; this board also owns and selects the 24-member board of the Hearst Corporation

• Since the 1970s, Hearst has worked to increase its global presence

• Mission (then and now): To inform, entertain, and inspire

• Culture: Driven by a legacy of innovation and a love of what’s next

Current Portfolio of Interests• 15 daily & 34 weekly newspapers

▫ Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, Albany Times Union

• Hundreds of international magazines▫ Esquire, Marie Claire, Road & Track, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, Popular Mechanics

• Broadcasting: 29 television stations▫ Reach a combined 18% of US viewers

• Entertainment & syndication▫ Ownership in multiple cable networks

Lifetime, A&E, ESPN, History

▫ Ownership in multiple television production companies

• Business media, investments, & joint ventures ▫ Automotive, electronics, and medical/pharmaceutical business information companies, a global

ratings agency, internet and marketing services, digital distribution, newspaper features distribution, and real estate

Cosmopolitan Magazine• 1886: Started as a family magazine• 1888: Became a socially progressive, upscale literary publication • 1905: Acquired by Hearst

▫ Hearst preferred sensationalist reporting; became an outlet for political exposés

• Nearly liquidated in the 1950s due to its liability• 1965: Revolutionary editor Helen Gurley Brown stepped in,

transformed the publication • Today:

▫ 61 print magazine editions in 35 languages in 170 countries▫ “A bible for fun, fearless females” ▫ Cosmopolitan.com reaches 20 million unique visitors monthly

Theoretical Framework•Transnational Media Management

▫ Broad, diverse, fragmented, underdeveloped theory▫ Three common approaches (Hollifield, 2001):

(a) the study of external conditions or rules that influence the behaviors of industries or groups of firms, such as in the traditional industrial-organization and micro-economic approaches

(b) the study of how economic and environmental factors influence firm behavior within and across countries

(c) the study of firm and managerial practices as they do business in countries other than home markets

▫ Strube (2010) narrows these approaches, identifies 7 general TMM research topics: firm-level management internationalization process corporate-level strategies market entry strategies leadership and organization functional management management of cross-border co-operations

Theoretical Framework• Applicable Key Propositions (via Strube, 2010)

▫ Firm-level management TMNCs “need to balance localization and standardization of

their products to be successful”

▫ Corporate-level strategies International diversification is positively related to TMNC

performance

▫ Internationalization process TMNCs follow an incremental pattern: “Companies

gradually increase their commitment in international markets over time”

Adapt the products to meet the needs, desires, and preferences of consumers in foreign markets

Analytical Literature Review• McLellan (2014)

▫ Corporate-level strategies/internationalization/firm-level mgmt Opened a corporate office in Beijing Acquired an international magazine business that already

published 100 titles in 15 countries Purchased one of the world’s largest independent digital

marketing service providers to add services to advertising clients

Developed digital media applications & digital editions of hard copy publications

Entered into a joint-venture partnership with Mark Burnett Productions 50% ownership of the firm 5o% ownership of all future non-fiction entertainment productions

distributed across multiple platforms

Analytical Literature Review•Galarneau (2009)

▫Hearst Corporation’s digital strategy Initially delegated Internet operations to outside

entity; once that outside entity was bought by a competitor, Hearst scrambled to build a variety of websites in a matter of just a couple of years

Built the sites including multiplatform applications of video and games

Used to web to drive subscription sales Were able to be more aggressive in partnership

and acquisition strategies Outsourced non-core digital operations

Analytical Literature Review•Rosenthal (2009)

▫Corporate-level strategies / internationalization Prior to 1989, Hearst published <20 int’l editions,

all under licensing agreements George Green & Hearst Magazines International

(HMI) Local partnerships & joint ventures Centralized HMI staff to guide (not dictate to) global

editors and art directors HMI became largest U.S. publisher of magazines

worldwide; joint revenue $150M+ by 2008 200+ int’l editions of Hearst titles; Cosmo most

successful

Analytical Literature Review• Hunt (2012)

▫ Branding/Image of Cosmopolitan Magazine Helen Gurley Brown established, constructed, and

reconstructed the Westernized feminist ideology of the “Cosmo Girl” over 32 years as the domestic & international editor

Separated from other women’s magazines of the 1960s because it provided an interpretation of the female gender role from a sexualized perspective Women can have it all—love, sex, and power Brown’s hand-on management style and longevity created a

consistency in style that influenced readers to consider the advice and articles contained within the magazine as expert counsel.

Courted advertisers through activities now considered to be unethical Advocated products in the magazine in exchange for personal

favors▫ Editor’s column▫ Created stories and quotes that placed certain organizations in a

positive light

Remained editor of the 59 international editions of Cosmopolitan Magazine until her death in 2012

Analytical Literature Review•Machin & van Leeuwen (2003; 2004)

▫ Analyzed 44 int’l editions of Cosmo to investigate how female identity is affected by Western culture

▫ Westernization through localization Localized editorial teams tailor their editions to reflect

values, narratives, and culture of their region Photos pulled from common repository or can be

locally produced All share attributes of glamour and brightness, sanitized fantasy

“Hot tips” problem/solution columns presented “practical” solutions to “common” problems; universal stance rather than local

▫ Assert that glocalization is a deliberate, strategic embedding of Western ideology in foreign markets

Analytical Literature Review• Nelson & Paek (2007)

▫ Content analysis of seven int’l Cosmo editions USA (1886/1965), France (1973), Brazil (1974), India (1996), Thailand

(1997), China (1998), South Korea (2000)

Examined influence of three factors on ad execution in Cosmo Degree of standardization vs. localization of models and

language Extent to which brand’s reach influenced standardization Extent to which the ad’s product category influenced

standardization

More multinational rather than domestic product ads ran everywhere but India and adopted more globalized styles

Brazil & France: ads were more localized in language & model choice – to protect their unique cultural identities

China: localized language to protect traditional cultural values

Analytical Literature Review•Li (2008)

▫Development of the magazine industry in China Joint ventures Overall cooperations Co-investments Copyright licensing Advertising agency service agreements

▫In 1998, China’s General Administration of Press & Publication gave permission to IDG & Hearst to form a copyright cooperation and establish Cosmo China

Analytical Literature Review•Zhang (2013)

▫Studied Chinese consumer behavior and attitudes

▫AAD model – attitude toward an advertisement

▫Structural/cultural Foreign appeals in advertising are directed

by global cosmopolitanism; status goods determine prestige

▫Action/motivation Media consumption choices based on the

content’s ability to provide or enhance knowledge of the English language or info about product origin

Analytical Literature Review•Toland Frith, Cheng, & Shaw (2004)

▫Studied correlation between ads exported by TMNCs in int’l versions and domestic ads in China

▫Findings: Foreign media publications have lower

circulations rate than domestics Western models used in both foreign &

domestic Asian publications use Western models for

overtly sexual or powerful messages and Asian models to represent innocence and domesticity

Conclusions• TMM principles

▫ HMI attempts to balance localization & standardization to maximize success▫ HMI seeks to put titles in as many countries as possible▫ HMI follows a pattern in committing to int’l markets over time; adapting where

necessary

• Hearst Magazines International intentionally and strategically attempts to instill Westernized ideologies in foreign markets▫ Many foreign markets resist these overt messages where possible or use only

Western models to send these types of messages▫ Foreign editions of core media magazines shape their local content around

Westernized imagery and advertising▫ Some international marketplaces embrace Western ideologies as a way to

generate national wealth through transnational media investment

• Though Cosmo editions exist throughout the world, literature relatively limited in international reach▫ Asian markets, namely China, dominate the research ▫ Limited scope is not surprising considering that many scholars believe Asia will

be the next core media system

• Definitive conclusions about how Hearst impacts int’l cultures and vice versa are limited, more comparative research and different geographical focuses are required

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