New York: The legendary American magazine Life, a 20th-century mainstay famous for its photography, will be revived by fashion model and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss, the company of which she is CEO announced on Thursday.
Bedford Media announced in a statement that the return of Life Magazine in print and digital distribution, as part of an agreement with (publisher) Dotdash Meredith, will lead to the relaunch of Life as a regular publication.
The financial details of the deal were not immediately disclosed, nor was a date for the relaunch. In a world of dizzying social and legacy media possibilities, Kloss, one of the top models in the early 2000s, said Life could help bring people together, according to the statement.
"Josh and I are honoured to continue @LIFE's legacy ?," she said on Instagram.
She was referring to her husband, investor Joshua Kushner, the new owner of the magazine. Kushner is brother of former president Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Created in 1883, and then bought and overhauled in 1936, Life has long been a flagship of photojournalism, publishing images captured by huge talents like Robert Capa, Alfred Eisenstaedt and Margaret Bourke-White. From movie stars to wars, Life chronicled the times for decades.
But after years of decline, it became a monthly, before dying out then reborn and finally surviving online with its archives in the 2000s. Kloss recently went shopping for i-D magazine, a British fashion bimonthly.
For an old-school feel, the publisher will also continue to publish special editions stamped with the red and white Life logo.
It’s the latest high-profile effort to resurrect a legacy publication during a tough time for the media industry. Old-school publishers like Condé Nast and newer ones like Vox and Vice have struggled amid a downturn in advertising.
But Kushner, who will serve as Life’s publisher, and Kloss are betting that they have a more focused approach that will succeed. “We see Life as an uplifting and unifying voice in a chaotic media landscape,”
Kloss said.
The two have already purchased other famous titles. When Bedford was formed last year, it bought the style magazine i-D from Vice. And in 2020, Kloss organised an investor consortium to buy the high-end fashion magazine W.
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