The following assignment was created for a Medill Winter 2021 course. We picked a magazine, analyzed its organizational structure, unpacked the layout of its digital and print spread, and dissected its audience and standing among its competitors. Email me (kaitlyn@mediafeed.org) with any questions or comments about my organizational ethnography or analysis.

Basic Information

Smithsonian is a print and online general editorial magazine that often discusses historical and cultural phenomena. However, articles also branch out into other genres, including climate, arts, culture, and travel. The Smithsonian Institute, founded in 1826, owns the magazine. The magazine’s inaugural issue came out in 1970.

According to Smithsonian’s media kit, the magazine’s average demographic is 60-year-old professionals. Its audience is split nearly evenly among men and women, with 51% of its readership being men and 49% being women. Around 85% of audience members have a college education and earn a median income of $87,522. Additionally, 75% of readers are homeowners.

Smithsonian’s media kit describes its psychographic profile in much broader terms. Its quintessential reader is “insatiably curious” about the world, which plays off the institute’s longstanding slogan, “Boundless Curiosity.”

This persona wants to learn something new every day. He or she listens to thought-provoking podcasts, reads the news, and engages friends and families in intelligent conversations. The persona holds an established, respected position at work and is stable in his or her personal life, including finances, relationships, and health. The persona is well-traveled and appreciates the beauty of different cultures and natural wonders.

Architecture

The magazine’s content online and in print are similar. Many of its printed feature stories appear prominently on the website. However, the website does contain other sider stories and other articles in a broader array of categories, such as breaking news, than the printed version.

Feature stories generally focus on an in-depth and interesting take on a well-known historical event or landmark, such as debunking the myth that humans never lived in Yellowstone Park. The topic is usually something the reader would have been familiar with already. Still, the article focuses on a recent development, disruption, or another unique quantifier that allows the story to add something different to the existing literature or discourse about that topic.

In print, this feature appears in the standard middle-of-the-book position. Features usually have disparate photos, maps, and at least one pull quote. The content itself is generally human-centric, and it often starts with an interesting quote or anecdote from a critical voice from the article. It’s not unusual for the story to be up to 20 pages long with at least five full-page photos, many of which take up the full two-page spread.

Key Smithsonian pillars include current or breaking news, history, science, ingenuity (meaning recent innovations and profiles of innovators), arts and culture, as well as travel. These pillars often include photo essays, videos, games, and updates from The Smithsonian Museum (such as articles describing the behind-the-scenes of upcoming exhibitions).

The first regular department and vertical is Discussion, which is reader feedback on the past issue. Institutional Knowledge is akin to a letter from the editor. The Past Is Prologue discusses various American iconic inventions or ideas, such as peanut butter or jazz. Ask Smithsonian is a quick back-of-the-book one-pager where Smithsonian staff answer history-related questions that users send in.

While Smithsonian has a dedicated editorial staff, it relies almost solely on freelance writers. As such, its print edition focuses heavily on longer-form stories that writers have spent quite a bit of time developing.

The print magazine promotes these long-form stories on its cover, with the main feature getting the lion’s share of the cover. Its brief look inside section then lists the other three to four longer stories in the magazine. These stories may have various topics, ranging from national parks to the White House, but all the stories generally focus on that topic’s history.

However, Smithsonian’s social media and website promote more pop-culture centered stories or breaking news. For instance, on Jan. 9, Smithsonian’s Facebook page shared a story about January being national apricot month, which was much shorter than the average print story.

That same day, its main website story was a history of U.S. Capitol attacks. Such stories show that the magazine’s online presence has a much broader range of stories. More of these stories focus on pop culture, such as reviewing historical outfits from various films. Online, Smithsonian pushes more quick-hitting and engaging stories that focus less on in-depth research or interviews and more on various reviews, culture, or historical context for the day’s news.

Advertisers

Smithsonian has ads online and in print. Online ads appear as the typical banners embedded on the website’s side columns. Longer articles sometimes have far more intrusive video ads that disrupt readers’ view of the story until they interact with the ad.

In print, front-of-book ads tend to be full-page. Both sides of the back page have a full-page ad as well. However, there are many fractionals on the jump pages. There aren’t any sponsorships or native advertisements either in print or online.

Most advertisers online and in print target an adult or older audience with money to spend on luxury items. Advertisers include travel agencies, pay-as-you-go smartphones, jewelry companies, investment agencies, retirement homes, commemorative coins, and therapeutic shoe companies.

Tone and Voice

The average Smithsonian story has a candid, formal, and informative tone. While most writers use the third person, many of the stories are still humanistic and, as such, permit the writers to develop their voices within the story.

Nonetheless, Smithsonian stories are fact-based and didactic, which requires at least some degree of dispassionate writing. Likewise, no matter how interested the writers are in the subject at hand, the articles lean toward the explainer genre instead of opinion or analysis.

For instance, shortly after the insurrection in the U.S. Capitol, the magazine posted a quintessential Smithsonian online story, The History of Violent Attacks on the U.S. Capitol. The article is a typical Smithsonian response to a breaking news event: a summary of the breaking news event, a section comparing the event to similar historical events, and a slideshow of other related historical events.

Unlike other outlets, Smithsonian did not give its editorial opinion about what happened. Instead, it explained the historical significance of the event and instead focused on providing readers with the historical context for the U.S. Capitol attack.

Another quintessential Smithsonian story was The Lost History of Yellowstone, which gave an in-depth look at recently discovered evidence that proved humans once lived in Yellowstone Park. The writer perfectly pitched the idea for Smithsonian and its audience. It focuses on a well-known landmark rich in history. The writer adds to Yellowstone’s discourse by explaining the park’s human history and why that history matters today.

Even in its more pop culture pieces, Smithsonian focuses on the cultural and historical significance of that piece of pop culture, such as the Black Panther. The magazine recently ran a piece called How Black Panther Changed Comic Books (and Wakanda) Forever, which explains why Black Panther was such a historically significant superhero. The article explains this modern-day superhero’s place in the history of Black comics and entertainment, making it the perfect blend of pop culture and history for Smithsonian’s audience.

Top Editor

The last editor-in-chief was Michael Caruso, who stepped down in June 2019 for unspecified reasons. Caruso assumed the role in November 2011 and was Smithsonian’s fourth editor-in-chief. Smithsonian Institute never replaced his position.

Instead, the institute split Caruso’s print responsibilities among Executive Editors Terence Monmaney and Debra Rosenberg and Creative Director Maria Keehan. Smithsonian’s website leadership includes Digital Editorial Director Brian Wolly and Director of Digital Services & Technology Todd Stowell.

Neither the institute nor the Smithsonian website provides biographical information about these individuals. However, Monmaney’s name is always listed first both in print and online listing of editorial leadership. Monmaney even lists his job title as deputy editor on his LinkedIn account. As such, it appears he is the main editorial leader for print.

According to LinkedIn, Monmaney served as Smithsonian’s executive editor from 2003 to 2013. During 2013, his profile says he transitioned to deputy director, which he lists as his current title. Before joining Smithsonian, Monmaney was a freelance writer, with works appearing in The New Yorker, GQ, Forbes, Vogue, and other publications. He has a B.S. in biochemistry from The University of New Hampshire and an M.A. in writing seminars from Johns Hopkins.

For SmithsonianMag.com, Brian Wolly serves as the leading editorial voice. According to his LinkedIn, Wolly is a web editor and content strategist. He has served as the website’s digital since 2008. His title changed to digital executive editor in 2019, the year Caruso left, although his job description did not change. Wolly has an M.A. in museum studies from John Hopkins.

History and Mission

The Smithsonian Institute hires editorial staff members for Smithsonian. The institute does not list job duties for any editorial roles. However, according to Wolly’s LinkedIn, he manages day-to-day operations for the website, including story production and scheduling. He works with contributors to create and promote stories and blogs on the website and through social media. Based on this job description, it is likely that Rosenberg and Monmaney perform similar duties for the print side of Smithsonian’s production team.

Smithsonian Institute hasn’t provided information about structural changes since Caruso’s departure. However, based on the changes to critical editorial leadership jobs during the same year Caruso left, it appears that Smithsonian Institute restructured the editorial team to accommodate the growing importance of digital journalism. While a speculative analysis, this theory would explain why digital editorial staff members are now listed separately from print staff and the inclusion of more creative directors to the print production team.

Print vs. Digital

As previously discussed, Smithsonian’s digital content varies from its monthly print magazine. The digital editorial staff adds new content more frequently, and these articles tend to be much shorter than print stories. Additionally, its online site covers breaking news, which a small team of writers produces, according to the website’s staff page.

Nonetheless, its online site doesn’t produce content daily, and it only adds a few additional articles, around three or four, during the weekdays or when a breaking news event occurs. Other digital articles focus on reviews, pop culture history, and content that markets Smithsonian Institute museums, exhibits, or products, such as listicles of books sold on Smithsonian Institute websites. In contrast, its monthly issues feature lengthy articles featuring in-depth research and expert interviews.

Smithsonian doesn’t differentiate its online and print audiences on SRDS. However, its online content, including social media, appears to have a slightly different brand strategy than its print issues. In print, the magazine expects its readers to want long and well-researched articles that go in-depth about a particular topic or subject. Online, it focuses on shorter pieces and reviews that readers could finish during a coffee or lunch break.

While these pieces may also appeal to a younger audience since they’re shorter and more entertaining, they still carry a similar tone and voice as its print issues. The magazine also has a very minimal social media presence and posts infrequently. These observations suggest that Smithsonian is still overall targeting the same audience both online and in print. Younger individuals appear to be a secondary audience even online that the Smithsonian isn’t directly targeting.

Smithsonian has some articles with embedded Smithsonian Institute podcasts. The institute maintains these podcasts, including Sidedoor and PORTRAITS, and the magazine only embeds them into digital articles with brief accompanying texts. The magazine has Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, but none of the accounts have more followers than competitors. These platforms generally only link to online articles. However, its Instagram page occasionally partners with contributors for “takeovers,” which allows contributors to make posts on an agreed-upon day.

Since Smithsonian Institute owns Smithsonian, it’s no surprise that the magazine’s website includes an “At the Smithsonian” vertical, which essentially advertises other Smithsonian Institute departments. It also links to the institute’s store, which sells things one would expect to find at a Smithsonian gift shop. Items include books, branded apparel, decor, seasonal items, jewelry, and more.

Category Analysis

According to SRDS, Smithsonian is a general editorial and content magazine. Other magazines with this SRDS classification include Vanity Fair, Reader’s Digest, National Geographic, Forbes, Scientific American, and The New Yorker.

While Smithsonian is a historical magazine, its cultural and sociological approach to history differentiates it from most magazines classified as history. These magazines, such as American History and Naval History, focus more on summative approaches to historical events and rarely discuss cultural or current events. Smithsonian has a far broader audience than these magazines since it commonly focuses on how historical events affect modern-day politics, culture, science, technology, and more.

Nonetheless, its historical lens sets it apart from other general editorial magazines. While Smithsonian may discuss some of the same topics as The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, or other magazines, it most often does so by providing the historical context for that topic. As such, it offers a unique comparative view of today’s hot issues using a historical discourse.

Smithsonian boasts a print audience of over six million, although it only has around 16,000 digital subscribers. Nonetheless, the magazine fares far better than other publications in terms of ad rates and returning clients. These trends are most likely a result of its loyal but aging readership base. The magazine continues to grow, which may result from discounts and special offers that other Smithsonian Institution branches, such as museums, offer its customers.

Its online site is relatively standard and does not take full advantage of multimedia journalism in ways competitors have, such as interactive stories or infographics. However, the magazine’s 2019 shift in editorial leadership, including the separation of print and digital staff, suggests the magazine may be ready to focus more on its digital marketing efforts to appeal to a younger audience.

Audience Engagement

The print version of Smithsonian targets its typical audience, 50-year-old professionals, quite well. Its in-depth articles on various cultural and historical topics closely align with the overall institute’s slogan, “boundless curiosity.” The institute advertises its flagship publication, the monthly print edition, instead of digital subscriptions to its website. Its site and social media website are simple and heavily promote its print publication. The site even has links to past issues on its main page.

If the magazine’s overall mission is to continue serving this older demographic well, it is doing its job well. According to Pew Research, Americans over 50 still heavily rely on legacy media, which includes printed magazines, over digital-first media. Since the average Smithsonian reader is 60, it makes sense for the magazine to push printed issues over digital subscription models.

Nonetheless, as someone less than half the average reader’s age, I would like to see the magazine beef up its digital production. Like the majority of my under 30 counterparts, most of my media consumption happens online. Digital media provides more room for innovative reporting, such as interactive maps and videos. Additionally, younger audiences are more environmentally conscious consumers, and digital media cuts down on the number of printed products that end up in landfills.

Suggested Improvements

If I were a Smithsonian editorial team member, I would continue pushing for a more prominent digital presence. As millennials and Gen-Xers begin their professional careers, Smithsonian can capitalize on these individuals as potential new subscribers. This move is significant to create a new cycle of readers as its current audience base dies.

Nonetheless, the magazine needs to be careful about balancing its current audience’s needs with any goals to expand or shift focus to a younger generation. I would suggest a gradual transition through marketing campaigns that promote digital gift subscriptions. The team could attach cover wraps or insert cards to current subscribers’ printed magazines advertising digital subscriptions. The magazine could advertise these digital subscriptions as an option for birthdays and holidays for current subscribers’ family members.

According to Columbia Journalism Review, offering an auto-renew option or steep discount to continue the gifted subscription often results in long-term subscribers. Offering these options for both gift and regulation subscriptions could also serve both a new, younger audience and the Smithsonian’s current demographics.

As Smithsonian loses its older subscribers, it will also be necessary for the magazine to shift focus and cater to generations of readers that expect to consume their media digitally and through social media, according to Pew Research. A failure to appeal to younger generations could result in a sharp decline in Smithsonian subscribers.

As such, promoting digital subscriptions through current legacy subscribers could help the magazine make the first steps to breach that generational gap and decrease the age of its existing audience. Offering steep student discounts to high school and college students could also aid Smithsonian in this goal.

After the magazine begins to shift its marketing strategy to cater to younger generations, it will need to accompany that shift with a focus on multimedia storytelling if it wants to keep that audience engaged. This shift will also help it compete with other general editorial magazines that are already doing so.

Younger audiences such as myself may find the current pillars and departments interesting, and I don’t anticipate that the magazine would have to shift its topics covered much. However, again, Smithsonian will need to change how it delivers that material to a younger audience.

Pew Research found that younger generations have shorter attention spans when reading print content than older generations. However, it also found that younger generations were more likely to engage in longer reads when reading digital content. As such, Smithsonian should consider shortening printed features and move content that it usually features in print to its digital subscriptions and website.

Additionally, saving on print production will be an increasingly important move as its readership base shifts since younger readers will be less likely to subscribe to print. A decrease in bulk printed issues could make print increasingly cost-prohibitive over time. The magazine can use divest in print to invest more resources in digital content and tools that will make its content more accessible to an evolving readership base.

A Deep Dive into Smithsonian