Death of the Magazine: What Happened to Print Beauty Media?

Not that long ago, Australia had more women's magazines per capita than almost any comparable market. Australian Women's Weekly, Vogue, Dolly, Cleo, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Girlfriend, Marie Claire, Grazia. Titles that shaped culture, launched careers, and functioned as the single most powerful distribution channel beauty brands had access to.That ecosystem is largely gone now. In May 2020, Bauer Media shut down most of its Australian titles in the middle of a pandemic, laying off the majority of staff over a single Zoom call. Titles that had been publishing for decades closed within weeks.In this episode, I sit down with Kate Lancaster — a beauty journalist who was on that Zoom call. Kate's words you have undoubtedly read, whether in the pages of Elle, Grazia, or on a billboard for your favourite sunscreen brand. Together, we unpack how the magazine business was structured, how it made money, why it stagnated creatively, and what the collapse actually looked like from inside a newsroom. We also look at what comes next — from the rise of brand Substacks to why journalists might be the most valuable hires in beauty right now.A series of images, references, graphs and visual aids have been created to help narrate this story. You can find them at barefaced.substack.com. And you can find Barefaced everywhere else at beacons.ai/barefaced. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barefaced.substack.com