Harper's 150th Anniversary: The Power of Print - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

The magazine keeps its focus on ideas--not celebrity--and younger readers respond.

* It launched as Harper's New Monthly Magazine in 1850, just as the American industrial revolution was shifting into high gear. Now, Harper's is celebrating its 150th anniversary in the middle of a different kind of revolution--the one going on behind your computer screen and on the World Wide Web.

Although the Internet is permeating almost every industry, Harper's editor (since 1983) Lewis Lapham says he disagrees with the Andy Groves of the world who have predicted the death of print. "People won't stop using the Internet, but Harper's is specifically designed for people who like to read on the page," says Lapham. "It's not about data. It's about expression. Readers look at it as a welcome relief" from the Internet juggernaut.

So Harper's targets the right side of the brain--the one that embraces imagination?

Lapham laughs. "I think it's the right side. I can never remember."

Throughout its history, Harper's has held fast to American literary traditions. Indeed, the 205,000-circulation monthly is a rarity in today's magazine universe: a worshipper of words and ideas amid the celebrity din. But it's not entirely cerebral: The niche publication is holding its own in the practical world of ad sales. Ad pages through June (161) are up nearly 8 percent compared to the same time period in 1999 (149). Meanwhile, ad revenue through June ($1.9 million) is up 12 percent over 1999 ($1.6 million).

And in what Lapham says is a good harbinger for the future of Harper's, the average age of its readers is down to 38 from 46.

Harper's continues to flourish "because it's not a celebrity magazine," says Lapham. "We get letters saying, 'Thank God your magazine is still around. I cannot look at another picture of Madonna.'"

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