Bedford Media to bring back Life magazine in print form
Print may be dying, but Bedford Media believes it can bring back Life.
The New York-based media holding company owned by fashion model Karlie Kloss and her husband, Joshua Kushner, announced Thursday that it would relaunch the famed magazine as a regular newsstand publication. The title was long one of the anchor publications of Henry Luce’s Time Inc. magazine empire in the mid-20th century.
A representative for Bedford said the publication frequency is still to be determined but the title will most likely launch as a quarterly. The first issue is scheduled for early 2025. The new Life will have a website and branded digital and audio products as well.
The picture-driven Life was a major chronicler of the nation and world until it ceased weekly publication in the 1970s, supplanted by television news. The title was revived as a monthly, which published until 2000, and later as a Sunday newspaper insert, which ended in 2007.
Life’s famous all-caps red-and-white logo has been used for single topic and commemorative editions in the years since.
Bedford will try to bring Life back at a time when many print publications are declining as they have been decimated by online competition. Numerous major magazine brands such as Entertainment Weekly, Time and Sports Illustrated have scaled back operations while others have shuttered.
Bedford is licensing the Life brand from owner Dotdash Meredith, which still owns the magazine’s vast photography archive. Dotdash Meredith will continue to publish its own single topic issues with the name.
“We see Life as an uplifting and unifying voice in a chaotic media landscape,” said Kloss, who is chief executive of Bedford Media. “While Bedford is a new media company, we are deeply inspired by Life’s iconic legacy and ability to connect diverse audiences with universal narratives of humanity.”
Kloss’ husband is the brother of former President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Josh Kushner will be publisher of the new Life magazine.
Bedford Media recently acquired i-D magazine, the British publication covering fashion and culture.