Radio Times

Review by:

Laurence Joyce

Gill Hudson was until 2009 the editor of Radio Times before leaving to take up a similar position at Reader’s Digest. She was in for a bumpy ride. Faced with a dwindling circulation and a £125m hole in its pension fund, the magazine went into administration but was rescued by a management buyout backed by private equity.

Early in 2011 the Digest relaunched with a classy new look and a list of starry columnists. Presenter John Waite visits the Reader’s Digest London office and hears from Hudson how the magazine, for years a staple of dentists’ waiting rooms, is targeting a readership of over-45s who are “switched-on, self improving, media-savvy with children still at home, driven by the desire for knowledge and self-improvement”. Good luck, Gill!

About this programme

John Waite visits the Reader's Digest offices in the UK, where he learns about plans to make the brand more attractive to a modern readership. He explores the magazine's colourful history, revealing how it arrived in Britain in 1938 as one of many international editions of the popular US-based publication. At one stage it was selling 18million copies a month in America alone. However, times have changed and the group now faces serious financial troubles.

Cast and crew

Crew

Producer

Geoff Bird

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