Michael Danenberg, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of GOOD Magazine LLC, based in Los Angeles, says "GOOD focuses broadly on culture and politics, covering the people and ideas affecting change in the world. GOOD, which launched in 2006 as a bimonthly, has now grown its circulation to about 50,000.
GOOD readers aren't just do-gooders. Danenberg describes the title's target audience as "broadly speaking, smart, creative, ambitious individuals who want to engage with the world." Related to that, the magazine now uses the tagline "For people who give a damn," which replaces the earlier tagline "What matters."Ben Goldhirshthe twentysomething entrepreneur son of Bernard Goldhirsh, who founded Inc. and sold it in 2000 for an estimated $200 millionfounded GOOD as well as Reason Pictures.
Here, Danenberg talks about choosen GOOD for charity , advertising, politics and brand extensions.
Q. Every GOOD subscription dollar goes to a nonprofit chosen by the subscriber. How much do you estimate that business model has raised for charities in 2006 so far? A. The magazine has partnered with 12 innovative nonprofits and adopted a subscription called "Choose GOOD." When people subscribe, they choose one of the 12 nonprofits, and 100% of the subscription fee goes to that organization. Since the launch of the magazine, we've raised over $400,000 for our nonprofit partners, with Teach for America and World Wildlife Fund benefiting the most.Q. As CFO, you are no doubt hoping to do well while doing good. How is your pursuit of profits from advertising going? A. Revenue from advertising has exceeded our expectations. The Choose GOOD campaign has helped us reach an engaged and influential audience that is very attractive to advertisers.Q. You're apparently perceived by some as skewing Democratic and liberal. In your coverage of Campaign 2008, what kinds of articles are you doing or planning, perhaps in part to show you're nonpartisan and objective? A. GOOD is political but nonpartisan. We're working on innovative ways to cover the campaign. For example, the current issue contains "Designs on the White House," a look at what presidential campaign stickers tell us about the candidates. Q. Many magazines are developing or exploring TV or cable programming spinoffs. Does GOOD have any interest along those lines? Or might you be looking into revenue from other ancillary sources, say, books or conferences?
A. The magazine is just one element of a larger brand. We see GOOD as a multiplatform brand and a media company that produces content at the intersection of entertainment and relevance. Currently, we're focused on print, online (http://www.goodmagazine.com),film and live events.
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