Macfadden Communications Group
An American publisher of business-to-business magazines with historical roots in Bernarr Macfadden's twentieth-century consumer-magazine empire.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Macfadden Communications Group is an American publishing company associated primarily with business-to-business magazines. Its name derives from the much larger publishing enterprise established by health and fitness entrepreneur Bernarr Macfadden in the late nineteenth century. Although the modern group is distinct from the original consumer-magazine operation in ownership and scope, it preserves the Macfadden publishing identity and is historically linked to one of the most expansive magazine businesses in the United States. The original enterprise began with Macfadden's interest in physical culture and bodybuilding. Its early magazine, Physical Culture, provided a platform for Macfadden's ideas about exercise, diet, health, and personal improvement. The company was originally known as The Macfadden Company, Inc. Its major commercial breakthrough came with True Story, launched in 1919. The magazine helped establish a highly successful formula based on emotionally direct accounts of romance, family conflict, morality, and personal experience. Macfadden subsequently developed a broad portfolio that included Photoplay, True Detective, and other popular titles, while also entering newspaper publishing through the New York Evening Graphic and related newspaper ventures. The company expanded and changed hands repeatedly after Macfadden withdrew from leadership roles in 1941. In 1961, Bartell Broadcasting Corporation acquired a controlling interest and combined its operations with Macfadden to create Macfadden-Bartell. The broader Bartell organization had interests in radio broadcasting, while the publishing side continued to develop consumer magazines and other media properties. Ownership and control later moved through Downe Communications and, ultimately, the Charter Company. During this period, the group added publications such as Family Weekly, Ladies' Home Journal, and The American Home through acquisitions. Macfadden's women's-magazine operations were separated in 1975 and sold to division president Peter J. Callahan. The divested portfolio included True Story, Photoplay, TV-Radio Mirror, True Confessions, Motion Picture, True Romance, True Experience, and True Love. In the 1980s, the company also acquired Ideal Publishing Company from Filmways, bringing youth and fan titles such as Teen Beat into its publishing interests. Macfadden acquired a stake in the National Enquirer in 1989; that investment later became part of the corporate history of American Media. The consumer-magazine business was subsequently reorganized. In 1991, Macfadden's consumer titles were spun off and combined with Sterling's Magazines, with the merger completed in 1992. Sterling's portfolio included youth and music publications such as Tiger Beat and Metal Edge. The youth music titles were sold to Primedia in 1998, while the remaining Sterling/Macfadden publications were acquired by Dorchester Media in 2004. Other assets were retained in a separate Macfadden holding structure. Trade publications including Chief Executive and Discount Merchandiser, together with Macfadden's interest in American Media, remained outside the consumer-magazine spin-off. The American Media investment was sold in 1999 to an investment group identified in reference material as Evercore Partners, and the Macfadden trade titles were sold to VNU during the same year. Executives associated with Macfadden Business Communications later established a new company using the Macfadden name. That successor-oriented business focused on business publishing rather than the mass-market romance, celebrity, detective, and youth magazines that had defined the earlier empire. The modern group is therefore best understood as a business-publishing successor and namesake of the historic Macfadden organization, rather than as a continuing owner of every magazine formerly published under the Macfadden banner. Pet Business, identified as a publication acquired in 2000, is among the titles associated with the later publishing operation. Reference material states that publications of Macfadden Communications Group had not been updated since early January 2025, but the company website remains the listed official web presence. Detailed current ownership, executive leadership, headquarters, revenue, and operating-market information is not established in the supplied sources.
History
The Macfadden name originated with Bernarr Macfadden, whose interests in physical culture, exercise, and health led to the creation of a publishing business in the late nineteenth century. The early company, initially known as The Macfadden Company, Inc., published Physical Culture and used magazine publishing to promote Macfadden's ideas about bodily development and personal discipline. This foundation connected editorial content with a broader commercial philosophy centered on self-improvement. The business became substantially more successful after the launch of True Story in 1919. Its first-person treatment of romance, family problems, and moral dilemmas created a durable mass-market formula. Macfadden expanded into additional popular categories with titles such as Photoplay and True Detective. The company also entered newspaper publishing, including the New York Evening Graphic and other newspaper properties. By the early twentieth century, the Macfadden organization ranked among the major American magazine publishers. Bernarr Macfadden withdrew from leadership responsibilities in 1941. The enterprise continued to operate under changing corporate arrangements and ownership. In 1961, Bartell Broadcasting Corporation obtained control and merged its interests with Macfadden to form Macfadden-Bartell. The organization combined publishing assets with a broadcasting group that owned radio stations including WADO in New York, WOKY in Milwaukee, and KCBQ in San Diego. Downe Communications acquired an interest in Bartell in 1967 and obtained full control in 1969. The ownership chain subsequently connected Downe with the Charter Company; the supplied historical account states that Charter acquired Downe in 1978. During the 1960s, the group enlarged its magazine and newspaper-supplement holdings. Downe purchased Family Weekly in 1966 and acquired Ladies' Home Journal and The American Home from Curtis Publishing in 1968. Macfadden also operated the Bartholomew House book imprint, which first collected material related to the company's magazines and later issued new books and celebrity memoirs. Examples associated with the imprint include Magic Cook Book, Great Western Heroes, Great Pioneer Heroes, Coffee, Tea or Me?, Ecstasy and Me, and George Murphy's memoir. The women's-magazine division was spun off in 1975 and sold to Peter J. Callahan, then a division president. The divested titles included True Story, Photoplay, TV-Radio Mirror, True Confessions, Motion Picture, True Romance, True Experience, and True Love. Macfadden later broadened its youth and fan-magazine activities by purchasing Ideal Publishing Company from Filmways in the mid-1980s. The Ideal portfolio included Teen Beat and related titles. In 1989, Macfadden acquired an interest in the National Enquirer, an investment that later became associated with American Media. A further restructuring took place in the early 1990s. Macfadden's consumer magazines were spun off in 1991 and merged with Sterling's Magazines; the transaction was completed in October 1992. The combined line included youth and music titles such as Tiger Beat and Metal Edge. In 1998, the youth music publications were sold to Primedia, while the remaining Sterling/Macfadden titles were later acquired by Dorchester Media in 2004. The trade-publishing assets followed a separate path. Chief Executive and Discount Merchandiser, along with the company's interest in American Media, remained in Macfadden Holdings. The American Media stake was sold in 1999 to an investment group identified as Evercore Partners, and the Macfadden trade publications were sold to VNU that same year. Executives of Macfadden Business Communications subsequently formed a new company using the Macfadden name. This later organization concentrated on business-to-business publishing and is the entity represented by Macfadden Communications Group in the supplied reference. Pet Business, identified as acquired in 2000, is associated with the modern publishing portfolio. Current leadership, ownership, headquarters, and detailed activity after early 2025 are not established by the supplied material.
- 2000
Pet Business acquired
[1]Pet Business was identified as a publication acquired by the later Macfadden publishing operation.
- 1999
Trade publishing assets divested
[1]Macfadden trade titles were sold to VNU, while the company's American Media interest was sold to an investment group identified as Evercore Partners.
- 1992
Consumer-magazine merger completed
[1]The consumer titles spun out of Macfadden were merged with Sterling's Magazines.
- 1975
Women's magazines spun off
[1]Macfadden's women's-magazine operations were separated from the broader company and sold to Peter J. Callahan.
- 1961
Macfadden-Bartell formed
[1]Bartell Broadcasting acquired a controlling share of Macfadden and combined the businesses as Macfadden-Bartell.
- 1941
Bernarr Macfadden withdrew from company leadership
[1]Macfadden stepped back from his leadership roles, leaving the business to continue under later managers and owners.
- 1919
True Story launched
[1]The launch of True Story created a highly successful mass-market magazine franchise built around personal experience and relationship narratives.
- 1898
Macfadden publishing enterprise established
[1]Bernarr Macfadden began the publishing enterprise that later became associated with the Macfadden name and magazine group.
Products and positioning
A specialist publisher focused on business and trade media, carrying forward the Macfadden name from a historically significant American consumer-magazine group.
Trade magazine
Pet Business
A business-to-business publication associated with the pet industry and identified in the reference material as acquired by the later Macfadden publishing operation in 2000. Its inclusion reflects the modern group's specialist trade-publishing orientation rather than the mass-market consumer focus of the historic Macfadden portfolio.
Business magazine
Chief Executive
A business publication that remained part of Macfadden Holdings after the consumer-magazine operations were separated. The title represents the company's trade and executive-media activities during its later corporate history.
Trade magazine
Discount Merchandiser
A trade publication retained alongside Chief Executive in the Macfadden Holdings structure. The title was later included among Macfadden's trade assets sold to VNU in 1999.
Consumer magazine · 1919
True Story
A mass-market personal-experience magazine launched in 1919. Its emotionally direct stories about romance, family, and personal conflict became one of the central commercial successes of the historic Macfadden publishing business.
Film and celebrity magazine
Photoplay
A well-known entertainment magazine associated with Macfadden's historical consumer portfolio. It focused on motion pictures, performers, and popular culture and was later included in the women's-magazine division that was spun off in 1975.
True-crime magazine
True Detective
A true-crime title that formed part of Macfadden's expansion beyond physical culture and relationship magazines. It exemplified the company's use of dramatic nonfiction and crime narratives in the mass-market periodical business.
Youth and fan magazine
Teen Beat
A youth-oriented fan publication brought into the Macfadden orbit through the acquisition of Ideal Publishing Company from Filmways in the mid-1980s. It later formed part of the consumer-magazine assets associated with Sterling's Magazines.
Brand decisions
1999
Macfadden trade titles sold to VNUM&ABackground
Chief Executive and Discount Merchandiser remained in a separate Macfadden holding structure after the consumer-magazine spin-off.
Action taken
The trade publications were sold to VNU, while Macfadden's stake in American Media was also divested.
Aftermath
The transaction further separated the historic Macfadden assets from the later Macfadden business-publishing identity.
1998
Youth music publications sold to PrimediaM&ABackground
The Sterling/Macfadden portfolio included youth and music publications such as Metal Edge and related titles.
Action taken
The youth music line was sold to Primedia.
Aftermath
The divestiture narrowed the remaining consumer-magazine portfolio before its later acquisition by Dorchester Media.
1991
Consumer magazines spun off into Sterling's MagazinesStrategyBackground
Macfadden reorganized its consumer titles separately from trade publications and other retained holdings.
Action taken
The consumer-magazine business was spun off and merged with Sterling's Magazines; the merger was completed in October 1992.
Aftermath
The combined publishing line continued under Sterling's ownership before later asset sales to Primedia and Dorchester Media.
1975
Women's-magazine portfolio spun offStrategyBackground
Macfadden held a substantial group of women's, romance, entertainment, and personal-experience magazines.
Action taken
The women's-magazine division was separated and sold to Peter J. Callahan.
Aftermath
The divestiture removed a major consumer-magazine group from the wider Macfadden structure.
1961
Bartell Broadcasting acquired control and created Macfadden-BartellM&ABackground
Macfadden was combined with a broadcasting company that owned radio stations in New York, Milwaukee, and San Diego.
Action taken
Bartell Broadcasting purchased a controlling interest in Macfadden and merged the companies.
Aftermath
The transaction placed Macfadden within a broader media group and preceded later transfers of control involving Downe Communications and Charter.
Sources2 sources
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