The Four Questions with Judy Rudrud, President/Publisher of Utne Magazine
Minneapolis-based Utne Magazine is a bimonthly that was founded 20 years ago by Eric Utne, who “designed it as an alternative Reader’s Digest,” said Judy Rudrud. Initially a newsletter, the Utne Reader, it “quickly morphed into a magazine” and now has a paid circulation of 225,000. Utne’s wife Nina took over in 1999, when he went into teaching at the Waldorf School she founded; he’s just launched “Cosmo Doogood’s Urban Almanac” as an annual “urban version of the old farmer’s almanacs.”
Utne – a Norwegian word that means “far out,” as its website www.utne.com points out – targets a very educated, upscale audience, active in causes and offbeat in its interests. A self-described “national progressive lifestyle magazine” whose tagline is “A different read on life,” Utne became an MPA member earlier this year.
Q1. What’s the best idea you’ve ever gotten from a reader? A. I would say quite a bit of what we publish comes from readers. We have more a community of readers than run-of-the-mill subscribers. It was all reprints, but Utne now contains 30% to 40% original writing. The rest digests the best of the alternative press by sifting through 1,500-plus such magazines, websites and e-zines.
Q2. What story in your magazine has had the greatest impact?A. We publish a lot of things that later enter the mainstream, in TIME, Vanity Fair and elsewhere. Back in ’91 we launched the ‘salon movement’ with an article that asked [readers] if they would like to get together with other readers in their community or zip code. [Its website calls Café Utne “a virtual ‘salon’ where our readers gather to discuss ideas and issues.”] We are currently part of a nonpartisan group called 'Let's Talk America,' which is dedicated to bringing Americans together to talk about the future of our democracy.
Q3. If you could do your “dream issue,” what would it contain? A. We have quite a few women in management here, so maybe an issue all about women and written by women. We’ve talked about doing it, but I don’t know if we ever will since we have a dual audience, including 62% female.Q4. On a long flight, what magazines do you take along?A. I take a variety. I’m kind of a newsstand hound so, at the airport, I tend to pick up some that I’ve never seen before. Besides those, I usually take Inc., Vanity Fair, The New Yorker…and Us and People – but only on airplane rides! And some trades, like Folio. My greatest fear is to be stuck on a flight with nothing to read.
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