The New Yorker

The New Yorker is an American magazine and digital media publication founded in New York City in 1925 by editor Harold Ross and journalist Jane Grant, with financial and publishing support from entrepreneur Raoul H. Fleischmann. Although its name and early editorial identity were closely associated with New York, the publication developed into a national and international cultural institution. It combines reported features, political and social journalism, criticism, essays, fiction, poetry, humor, satire, and cartoons, with a distinctive emphasis on careful editing, literary style, and visual identity. The magazine began as a sophisticated urban weekly intended to appeal to readers interested in metropolitan life, theater, books, art, nightlife, and society. Under Ross, it established editorial practices that became central to its reputation, including extensive editing and a prominent fact-checking operation. Its voice was shaped by a mixture of wit, skepticism, observational detail, and literary ambition. Over time, the publication broadened its scope beyond New York to cover national politics, international affairs, science, business, technology, popular culture, and social change. Fiction and literary nonfiction became especially important parts of the brand. The magazine published work by major twentieth- and twenty-first-century writers, while its criticism helped define public discussions of books, film, theater, music, art, and television. Its cartoon tradition is equally recognizable: single-panel cartoons, often accompanied by concise captions, became one of the magazine’s most enduring forms of cultural commentary. The cover, typography, illustrations, and cartoons together give the publication a visual character that is unusually consistent among general-interest magazines. The New Yorker has also influenced journalism through long-form profiles, investigations, narrative reporting, and essays that often receive attention well beyond the magazine’s subscriber base. In the digital era, it expanded from a primarily print product into a multi-platform operation that includes its website, digital subscriptions, podcasts, video, newsletters, archive access, and live or recorded audio programming. The site publishes both new material and selected material from the magazine’s extensive archive. Condé Nast became the publication’s corporate home in the late twentieth century. A 1998 integration with other Condé Nast operations was intended to produce administrative and distribution efficiencies while preserving the magazine’s editorial distinctiveness. In the 2010s, the brand invested in a redesigned website, a metered digital paywall, digital marketing, and audio programming. These changes supported a subscription model designed to complement, rather than replace, the print magazine. Today, The New Yorker remains a premium editorial brand with a global digital readership and a print edition published frequently throughout the year. Its positioning rests on depth, authority, originality, and a recognizable blend of seriousness and humor. The business operates across subscriptions, advertising, licensing and related media activities, while its editorial identity continues to be associated with fact-based reporting, literary craft, cultural criticism, fiction, and cartoons.

The New Yorker was established in 1925 by Harold Ross and Jane Grant, with Raoul H. Fleischmann providing essential publishing and financial support. Its first issue appeared on February 21, 1925. Ross sought to create a sophisticated weekly that captured metropolitan culture without being limited to conventional society journalism. The early magazine mixed brief observations, humor, criticism, illustrations, fiction, and reporting, gradually developing the editorial manner that became known as the New Yorker voice. Ross served as editor until his death in 1951. During his tenure, the magazine developed unusually demanding editorial and fact-checking practices. These standards helped distinguish it from publications that relied more heavily on speed or casual commentary. Ross also promoted a more disciplined approach to advertising. The magazine became cautious about endorsements attributed to its own contributors and about advertising claims for dubious products, preferring advertising compatible with the publication’s perceived integrity and affluent, culturally engaged readership. In the decades after its launch, The New Yorker expanded beyond its original focus on New York City. It became an important venue for fiction, poetry, essays, criticism, profiles, and narrative journalism. Writers associated with the magazine included influential literary and journalistic figures, and its pages became known for combining substantial reporting with polished prose. Its cartoons and covers created a second, highly visible route into public culture: short visual jokes, illustrations, and symbolic covers often circulated independently of the issue in which they appeared. The publication’s cultural authority grew through its coverage of politics, social movements, international affairs, science, business, the arts, and popular culture. Rather than competing primarily through brevity, it built its identity around context, interpretation, and editorial refinement. The result was a magazine that could serve both as a record of current events and as a long-term archive of American cultural and intellectual life. During the late twentieth century, The New Yorker became part of the Condé Nast portfolio under the ownership of Advance Publications. In 1998, Condé Nast began integrating several operational functions into its wider corporate structure. The stated purpose was to gain administrative and distribution efficiencies while maintaining the magazine’s distinctive editorial character and giving it access to shared corporate resources. The digital transition changed the brand’s distribution and business model. The New Yorker placed its archive and new editorial work online, introduced digital editions, and expanded into audio, video, newsletters, and podcasts. The website eventually adopted a metered paywall, allowing limited access before requiring a subscription. This model made the publication’s journalism available across devices while reinforcing subscriptions as a central relationship with readers. In 2014 and 2015, the brand supported its digital and subscription expansion with a redesigned website, marketing activity, and the launch of The New Yorker Radio Hour. A campaign developed by SS+K used the line “Where things get interesting” to express the publication’s broad appeal to curious readers. In 2020, another brand campaign, “The Right Question Changes Everything,” directed audiences toward provocative material from the archive and emphasized inquiry as a defining editorial value. Under editor David Remnick, who has led the magazine since 1998, The New Yorker has continued to operate as a print magazine while building a substantial digital and audio presence. Its contemporary scope includes breaking news, reporting, profiles, criticism, essays, fiction, cartoons, podcasts, video, and newsletters. The brand remains active and internationally recognized, with its premium identity grounded in editorial depth, literary quality, visual distinctiveness, and rigorous standards.

• 2020

  Archive-led brand campaign

  [7]The New Yorker launches a new brand campaignadage.com

  The “Right Question Changes Everything” campaign uses archival journalism and digital advertising to reinforce the brand’s questioning, analytical identity.

• 2015

  Digital paywall and Radio Hour expansion

  [5]The New Yorker Launches New Advertising Campaign, Created By SS+Kaaaa.org

  The New Yorker promotes its metered paywall and expands its audio presence with The New Yorker Radio Hour.

• 2014

  Website redesign and agency appointment

  [4]With a Redesigned Website, The New Yorker Hires an Ad Agencyadweek.com

  The publication redesigns its website and appoints SS+K to support brand marketing and the development of its digital subscription strategy.

• 1998

  Operational integration with Condé Nast

  [3]New Yorker Merger Will Begin Next Monthnytimes.com

  Condé Nast begins integrating selected operational departments while aiming to preserve The New Yorker’s editorial distinctiveness.

• 1951

  End of Harold Ross’s editorship

  [2]The New Yorkeren.wikipedia.org

  Ross’s tenure as founding editor ends with his death after shaping the publication’s voice and editorial standards.

• 1925

  First issue published

  [2]The New Yorkeren.wikipedia.org

  The New Yorker publishes its first issue on February 21, founded by Harold Ross and Jane Grant with support from Raoul H. Fleischmann.

A premium, intellectually oriented multi-platform publication combining rigorous journalism with literary writing, criticism, humor, fiction, and iconic cartoons.

• Magazine · 1925

  Print magazine

  The flagship print publication is issued frequently throughout the year and combines reported journalism, criticism, essays, fiction, poetry, humor, cartoons, and visual art. It remains the principal expression of The New Yorker’s editorial and design system.

• Digital publishing

  NewYorker.com

  The website publishes new reporting, profiles, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, cartoons, newsletters, audio, and video. It also provides access to a substantial archive and supports the brand’s digital subscription model.

• Podcast and audio · 2015

  The New Yorker Radio Hour

  The audio program extends the magazine’s journalism and cultural coverage through interviews, reported segments, conversations, and adaptations of the publication’s broader editorial approach.

• Editorial and visual content · 1925

  Cartoons and covers

  Single-panel cartoons, illustrated covers, and visual essays are core editorial products rather than merely decorative elements. They provide concise humor and commentary and have become among the brand’s most recognizable public-facing assets.

• 2020The Right Question Changes Everything

  United States · Digital

  The campaign directed consumers toward provocative and influential stories from The New Yorker archive, framing questioning and intellectual curiosity as central to the brand.

  Outcome. It supplied a digital brand platform for promoting archival journalism and the publication’s analytical editorial identity.

  Source
• 2015Where things get interesting

  United States · Digital

  Created by SS+K, the campaign portrayed The New Yorker as a place where curious readers encounter unexpected stories and perspectives. Its creative work included video, social, print, and digital executions, including a spot set around a commuter’s journey.

  Outcome. The campaign supported the magazine’s ninetieth-anniversary period and its broader print, web, mobile, subscription, and audio expansion.

  Source

• 2015

  Expand into branded audio with The New Yorker Radio HourProduct launch

  Background

  The publication was extending its editorial identity beyond print and web as audience consumption shifted toward audio and mobile formats.

  Action taken

  The New Yorker launched The New Yorker Radio Hour and incorporated audio into its broader multi-platform strategy.

  Aftermath

  Audio became an established part of the brand’s portfolio alongside print journalism, web publishing, newsletters, and video.

  Source

• 2014

  Adopt a redesigned digital platform and metered paywallStrategy

  Background

  The publication sought to modernize its website and develop a digital subscription model alongside its established print business.

  Action taken

  It redesigned the website, prepared a metered paywall, and hired SS+K for related brand marketing.

  Aftermath

  The digital transition was followed by subscription, web, mobile, and audio expansion, including marketing activity around the publication’s ninetieth anniversary.

  Source

• 1998

  Integrate selected operations with Condé NastStrategy

  Background

  The New Yorker was brought into closer operational alignment with other Condé Nast publications after becoming part of the Advance Publications-owned group.

  Action taken

  Manufacturing, distribution, technology, human resources, and general administration began moving into shared corporate arrangements.

  Aftermath

  The stated objective was greater efficiency and access to shared resources while retaining the magazine’s distinctive editorial elements.

  Source

• 2020

  The New Yorker introduces “The Right Question Changes Everything”[9]The Right Question Changes Everythingadage.com

  Campaign

  The brand campaign used digital advertising and selected stories from the publication’s archive to encourage readers to reconsider established assumptions.

• 2015

  The New Yorker launches the “Where things get interesting” campaign[6]Everyone has a story in 'The New Yorker' adcampaignlive.com

  Campaign

  A campaign created by SS+K presented the magazine as a meeting place for curiosity and varied human stories across print, digital, and video formats.

• 1998

  Condé Nast begins integrating The New Yorker into its broader operations[3]New Yorker Merger Will Begin Next Monthnytimes.com

  M&A

  Condé Nast announced that manufacturing, distribution, technology, human resources, and administrative functions would be integrated while the magazine’s distinctive editorial identity was retained.

1. 1The New Yorker official websitenewyorker.com
2. 2The New Yorkeren.wikipedia.org
3. 3New Yorker Merger Will Begin Next Monthnytimes.com
4. 4With a Redesigned Website, The New Yorker Hires an Ad Agencyadweek.com
5. 5The New Yorker Launches New Advertising Campaign, Created By SS+Kaaaa.org
6. 6Everyone has a story in 'The New Yorker' adcampaignlive.com
7. 7The New Yorker launches a new brand campaignadage.com
8. 8Eighty Years of New Yorker Advertisementsnewyorker.com
9. 9The Right Question Changes Everythingadage.com