Start The Presses: Why Print Is Making A Comeback

Photo credit: Jimmy Hasse

When delegates, journalists, and protesters converged on Chicago for the Democratic National Convention in August, they had an experience unknown since the days of the Obama administration: finding a new print edition of The Onion in bookstores, barrooms, and the hands of street corner distributors across the city.

The humor publication, which was acquired earlier this year by a firm backed by former Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson, launched a new monthly print edition with some DNC-specific content, parody ads for brands like Ashley Madison and Chick-fil-A, and a pull-out centerfold poster of the “Sickos” guy of Onion comics fame. Future print copies will mostly be available only to subscribers paying at least $9 per month. So far, the company says (without disclosing specifics) that the membership program is going well. 

Highlight of the day: getting @TheOnion in print again in Chicago 🤩 pic.twitter.com/OumcwJtRtV

— Annie Johnson (@anneejohnson9) August 21, 2024

“I can’t talk about numbers, but I can say definitively, we have gotten a lot of signups,” says Leila Brillson, chief marketing officer at The Onion. 

The Onion is just one of a number of well-known outlets that have recently announced a return to print. Others include Nylon, Saveur, Spin, NME, Field & Stream, and Playboy, as well as more niche titles like Governing and Swimming World, and even some local and student newspapers. Vice, which famously filed for bankruptcy last year and later laid off hundreds, has announced a new quarterly print edition for $10 per month.