FOUNDED
Rookie Magazine
Launched September 2011, by Tavi Gevinson,
on rookiemag.com
Parent company: New York Media
Launched in 1968, by Milton Glaser and Clay
Felker
HOW IT BEGAN
Rookie Magazine is the brainchild of Tavi, who
first rose to fame in fashion blogger circles with
her blog Style Rookie (which she started when
she was just 11).
On Style Rookie, Tavi often wished that one of
her favorite ‘90s magazines, Sassy, would be
resurrected from the grave so it could provide its
unique mix of both sassy (of course) and smart
content for modern day girls who wanted to
learn about sex, not about “how to please your
man”; who wanted to explore their personal
style, not “match this season’s hottest shoes
and dresses”; who wanted to talk about
“Degrassi” as much as they wanted to discuss
Betty Friedan.
Through the magic of the Internet, Tavi got in
touch with Jane Pratt, the original editor of
Sassy. And the rest is, as they say, history: Jane
went on to found online magazine xoJane for
women in their 20s and 30s, but Tavi kept true
to her teen roots and, with the help from
guardian angels like Jane and "This American
Life" radio host Ira Glass, and exclusive
advertising funding and hosting by New York
Media, launched the online-only Rookie
Magazine on September 5, 2011, at the tender
age of 15.
Rookie – an online publication for teenage girls
(and anyone else who wants to read it).
New York Magazine was founded in 1968 as a
Sunday magazine supplement of the New York
Herald Tribune newspaper. After the newspaper
folded in 1967, editor Clay Felker and his
partner Milton Glaser kept running the magazine
as a separate entity.
Among New York Magazine’s early contributors
were established and later iconic journalists and
writers like Tom Wolfe, Gloria Steinem, Gail
Sheehy, Judtih Crist, and Woody Allen. In 1976,
Australian newspaper magnate Rupert Murdoch
bought out New York Magazine, and after a
series of owners, ended up being bought in
2003 by financier Bruce Wasserstein. Following
his death in 2009, New York Media belongs to
Wasserstein’s family.
Since then, New York Magazine, now part of the
main publishing branch New York Media, has
become one of the foremost authorities on New
York City happenings, though the reach of the
print magazine, the online magazine, and online
niche blogs like The Cut (fashion), The Daily
Intel (news), Grub Street (food), and Vulture
(pop culture) extends far beyond NYC.
With its support of Rookie, New York Media
continues its tradition of supporting quality
creative efforts and fostering insightful
discussion around contemporary culture, this
time targeted to the teen/kids demographic.
REVENUE + READERSHIP
Total New York Media revenue:
$84 million
New York Magazine:
Paid and verified circulation: 1.6 million people
Percentage of paid subscriptions: 95.8%
NYMag.com and other online outlets:
Unique viewers per month: >5.5 million
Pageviews per month: >20 million
NYMag.com: ranked in the top 850 (#830) of all
U.S. websites
PRODUCTS
Rookie Magazine – an online magazine that
features writing, illustrations, video, and
comics by contributors that range from teenage
girls to grown men
Rookie Yearbook One – a hard copy compilation
of Rookie’s first year of articles, interviews,
photo editorials, and illustrations
TOTAL NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
Rookie Magazine – 68 named contributors
New York Media – 200-300 employees, 100+
byline contributors
EDITORIAL STAFF
New York Magazine – a weekly print magazine
that concerns itself with the life, culture, politics,
and style of New York City
NYMag.com – the online extension of New York
Magazine; redesigned and relaunched in 2006
MARKETS SERVED
Rookie can be found online at the following
URLs:
 http://rookiemag.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/
ROOKIE/240625002639799
 https://twitter.com/rookiemag
 http://rookiemag.tumblr.com/
New York Magazine is based in New York City
but can be found throughout the United States.
The magazine can also be found online at the
following URLs:
 http://nymag.com/
 http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/
(The Daily Intel)
 http://www.vulture.com/ (Vulture)
 http://nymag.com/thecut/ (The Cut)
 http://newyork.grubstreet.com/ (Grub
Street)
MARKET POSITION
Rookie Magazine:
Ranked in the top 20,000 websites in the U.S.
New York Media:
New York Magazine: one of the first city-focused
magazines in the U.S.; ranked in the top 200 of
all U.S. magazine circulations
Rookie:
Tavi Gevinson – Editor-in-Chief
Anaheed Alani – Editorial Director and Story
Editor
Lauren Redding – Managing Editor
Phoebe Reilly – Deputy Editor
Emily Condon – Advisor and Editor
Jeremy Zilar – Project Manager
Cynthia Merhej – Logo and Illustration Designer
New York Magazine:
Adam Moss – Editor-in-Chief
John Homans – Executive Editor
Jared Hohlt – Editorial Director
Ann Clarke – Managing Editor
Jon Gluck – Deputy Editor
Lawrence C. Burstein – Publisher
Kit Taylor – Chief Operating Officer
Kenneth T. Sheldon – Director of Circulation
Adelina Pepenilla – Chief Financial Officer
Anup Bagaria – Chief Executive Officer
NYMag.com:
Ben Williams – Editorial Director
Adam Pasick – Managing Editor
Steve Motzenbecker – Director of Design and
User Experience
AWARDS + ACCLAIM
Rookie been praised by publications and outlets
like The New York Times Magazine, NPR, The
Huffington Post, and The Daily Beast for its
sharp wit, balance of femininity with feminism,
and its frank tone when discussing everything
from teenage crushes to depression.
New York Magazine was the winner of the 2011
National Magazine Awards Citation of General
Excellence. NYMag.com won two 2012
American Society of Magazine Editor awards,
one for General Excellence (its third win in five
years) and for Best Website.