Harvard Magazine Hopes to Expand Readership, Sales

The Harvard Alumni Bulletin--now called the Harvard Magazine--has launched an expansion program with its September 1973 issue.

John T. Bethell '54, editor of the Magazine, said last week that he would like to expand the publication's readership "beyond the core of Harvard graduates."

"We have began soliciting subscriptions from the graduate schools and Radcliffe--although we don't want to step on the toes of the Radcliffe Quarterly," he said. "If it proves interesting to people other than alumni of the College, we will undertake a bigger promotion campaign next year."

'The Old Bulletin'

The old Bulletin, which had been directed primarily toward College alumni, contained notes on "The Classes" -- information sent in from alumni about their lives, jobs and families. It also included features on Harvard personalities, a column on undergraduate life, and notes about Cambridge.

Bethell said that he thinks that because of its new format--color photography and expanded feature coverage--the Magazine would eventually find its audience in "the same people who read intellectual magazines, like Daedalus for example."

"I felt that educational reporting was a weak sister," he said. "I'd like to see educational journalism done with accuracy and zest."

Bethell said that the expenses involved in promoting the Magazine on a large scale made the undertaking a "speculative risk-taking venture," since no outside source is funding the publication.

"We'd like to count on some bankrolling from Harvard, and we want to go to a bigger magazine," he said. "To make it worthwhile [in terms of circulation we would like to target subscriptions at 100,000." The magazine has about 18,000 subscribers now.

Bethell said that he hoped that in the future the Magazine could be sold in two editions, one with the alumni notes for alumni of the College, and another without the notes and designated for a general audience.