Men's Journal is a monthly men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and gear. It was founded in 1992 by Jann Wenner of Wenner Media, who sought to create a publication for "active, accomplished men to fuel an adventurous and discerning lifestyle". Wenner Media sold Men's Journal to American Media, Inc. in 2017.
Format
Each issue of Men's Journal is divided into 3 subsections:
Blueprint — provides the latest science articles and expert advice on diet, fitness, and exercise
Gear Lab — a monthly buyer's guide of tested and approved essentials: tech, tools and toys. Men's Journal hires experts and professionals to examine the products; the best performing gear throughout the year get highlighted in the December issue, "Gear of the Year".
History
The April 2004 issue of Men's Journal with Robert Redfordon the cover was carried into space on the STS-114Space Shuttle mission. The STS-114 mission was the first mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. image from the STS-114 Space Shuttle mission with the April 2004 issue of Men's Journal lying to astronaut Stephen Robinson's left side. On July 21, 2017, Greg Emmanuel was named chief content officer of Men's Journal. As of August 2017, Men's Journal began incorporating Men's Fitness into its print edition, increasing both its page count and issue count to 12 issues annually. In December 2019, Men's Journal announced its best stories of the past decade. They included "The Fighter" by Stayton Bonner, "Flight Risk" by Devon O'Neil and "Dirty Work" by J.R. Sullivan. On February 21, 2020, American Media announced the layoff of Men's Journal's entire New York editorial staff, totaling about 20 people. In doing so, the company also reduced the magazine's frequency, from 10 issues a year to six, and trimmed circulation to 1 million, down from about 1.25 million. WWD reported: "...David Pecker’s American Media is merging Men’s Journal’s editorial operations with Carlsbad, Calif.-based The Adventures Sport Network, which it acquired last year. From April, all editorial operations will be run out of that West Coast office." At the time of the layoffs, Men's Journal, after years of losing money under Wenner Media, was profitable. The New York Postreported: "The layoffs include Greg Emmanuel, the chief content officer and most senior editor, who had moved with the title from Wenner Media and got elevated to the top job when American Media laid off the previous editor-in-chief, Mark Healy, in 2017." On Twitter, the news was taken as the death of the magazine. "RIP @mensjournal," the writer Stephen Rodrick wrote. The investigative reporter Bryn Stole wrote: "here is full of the kinds of ambitious and entertaining pieces that made Men's Journal a damn fine magazine. It was among a small—& dwindling—number of places that'd actually pay writers to chase these sorts of stories."
