PSYCHOLOGY TODAY USES CELEBRITY ANGLE TO ATTRACT READERS

Back in the 1970s, Psychology Today's circulation was around 1.2 million. It was a scientific monthly that served as "kind of an alternative to Scientific American," says current editor in chief Robert Epstein.

Then the magazine changed ownership, and in an attempt to gain more readers, it moved toward covering pop psychology. "That didn't work," says Epstein, 48, who has a Harvard Ph.D. with three degrees in psychology, but no prior publishing experience. Epstein has been putting his mark on the now bimonthly publication for the past two years and, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the magazine's total paid figures are up slightly from 325,000 (first half of 2000) to 328,000 (first half of 2001).

Epstein insists on science-based stories with a mental-health or behavioral-sciences angle, and welcomes PR input. But while trying to rebuild the magazine's credibility as a source of science-based information, Epstein is trying "very hard" to make it "fun and upbeat" at the same time.

Star power is part of his mix for kicking new life into Psychology Today, which under Epstein has flashed celebrities on the cover to draw readers to inside stories written by science and medical experts. Supermodel Christy Turlington was on a recent cover as a tie-in to a story entitled "Why I Hate Beauty." The article was "very heavy science, but was about how beauty kind of screws up our attitudes toward the regular people in our lives," he says.

Other marquee names dressing up covers include actors Ashley Judd and Robin Williams, as well as the Dalai Lama. Featured on the forthcoming issue's cover will be actress Carrie Fisher, daughter of Hollywood's Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, highlighting a story on bipolar disorder (more commonly known as manic depression).

Epstein most recently interviewed Sarah Ferguson, the Dutchess of York, for a story on weight loss and nutrition. The October edition features Jane Seymour on the cover, and discusses family relationships. Though the theme for the issue is "desire," cover lines pose the question, "Can men and women ever be friends?"

"Again, it's the companion pieces that are critical," emphasized Epstein, also a professor at United States International University in San Diego, and author of 10 books. Having a celebrity to tie into a pitch can help. "As long as there's a legitimate mental-health angle, we don't care who it is," says Epstein.

"More and more, we're designing an issue around a cover," he adds. "But nothing gets into the magazine unless it has scientific support. Nothing." Epstein is hands-on, managing Psychology Today's print and online content from San Diego, where he has a laboratory and teaches on learning and cognition. "Every single piece in the magazine, large or small, goes through me," he says, but most of the writing is done by the full-time editorial staff based in New York and other contributors.

Psychology Today has been bimonthly since 1991, but Epstein says it "definitely" will return to a monthly frequency, and the issues will become thicker.

Gone is the magazine's two-hour daily Internet radio show Epstein hosted Monday through Friday at eYada.com, an outlet that recently lost its financial backing.

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(Source: PRWeek, Sept. 17, 2001)