Ms Magazine

What Ms Magazine does

Ms. Magazine is an American feminist news publication founded in 1972 and currently operated as a nonprofit wholly owned by the Feminist Majority Foundation since 2001. The company publishes a continuous print and digital magazine covering reproductive rights, democracy and voting rights, politics, health, culture, and global women's issues, serving individual readers, activists, academics, and movement supporters. Its product portfolio has expanded beyond the core magazine to include Ms. Studios (a four-podcast network including On the Issues with Michele Goodwin, Fifteen Minutes of Feminism, Ms. Book Club, and United Bodies), the 50 Years of Ms. anthology book, the FEMINIST 250 multimedia essay series, the Life I Built participatory campaign, Ms. in the Classroom, a merchandise store, and a program providing free magazines to incarcerated women.

The business is built on a diversified nonprofit revenue model comprising recurring memberships and subscriptions (starting at $20/year for new members), donations, advertising (e.g., Pandia Health), one-time book sales ($50 hardcover, $14.99 ebook), and merchandise. Content is distributed through a digital publishing platform, email newsletters, podcast platforms (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio), and major book retailers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Walmart). The publication is embedded in the Feminist Majority Foundation's ecosystem, with cross-promotion across sister organizations including Feminist Campus, Girls Learn International, and Feminist.org. Ms. Magazine has 51-100 employees, is headquartered in Los Angeles, and is led by Executive Editor Kathy Spillar and Executive Producer Michele Goodwin, with Gloria Steinem as co-founder and Eleanor Smeal as president and publisher.

Name

Ms Magazine

Legal name

Ms. Magazine (Feminist Majority Foundation)

Website

https://msmagazine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Ms. Magazine is a nonprofit feminist news publication founded in 1972, wholly owned by the Feminist Majority Foundation. It serves activists, readers, and academics through a print and digital magazine, a four-show podcast network (Ms. Studios), books, and advocacy campaigns funded by memberships, donations, and limited advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Feminist Media and Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Women’s Interest & Parenting Magazines (MPAJAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Politics, Current Affairs & Social Commentary Publishing (MPAJAAAM)

Keywords

• Feminist journalism
• Print magazine publishing
• Women's media
• Digital news media
• Multimedia publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership/Subscriptions: Print and digital magazine subscriptions with membership programs offering exclusive content, discounts, and community access
2. Donations: Direct contributions from supporters and readers to support feminist journalism and the organization's mission
3. Advertising: Sponsorships and advertising from aligned companies such as Pandia Health
4. Book Sales: Sale of 50 Years of Ms. anthology book at $50 hardcover and $14.99 ebook
5. Store Products: Sale of merchandise through the Ms. Store including back issues and branded items

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Ms. Magazine is a multi-format feminist news publication that produces original editorial journalism on women's rights, reproductive freedom, democracy, politics, and culture, delivered through a continuously published print magazine, the msmagazine.com digital news platform, and the Ms. Studios podcast network (On The Issues with Michele Goodwin, Fifteen Minutes of Feminism, Ms. Book Club, United Bodies). Revenue is generated through individual subscriptions/memberships, donations, advertising, branded merchandise, and book sales, including the 50 Years of Ms. anthology.

Product overview

Ms. Magazine is a feminist news and information media company offering a multi-platform portfolio of products. The core offering is the Ms. Magazine print and digital publication, which has operated continuously since 1972. Ms. Studios serves as the multimedia production arm, creating multiple podcast series including On The Issues with Michele Goodwin, Fifteen Minutes of Feminism, Ms. Book Club, and United Bodies. Additional products include The Life I Built participatory storytelling campaign, the Feminist Daily Newswire, Ms. Membership subscription program, the Ms. Store merchandise outlet, and educational programming through Ms. in the Classroom. The company also published the 50 Years of Ms. anthology book in 2023 and operates the FEMINIST 250 multimedia essay series. A community program provides free magazine subscriptions to incarcerated women.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ms. Studios: The multimedia podcast and studio arm of Ms. Magazine, producing feminist podcasts including 'On The Issues with Michele Goodwin', 'Fifteen Minutes of Feminism', 'Ms. Book Club', and 'United Bodies'.

Products and services

• Ms. Magazine (Print & Digital Publication) A feminist news magazine published in both print and online formats, covering politics, health, culture, global affairs, women and democracy, justice, and other feminist issues. Targeted at individual readers seeking in-depth feminist journalism and cultural analysis.
• Ms. Studios Podcast Network A multimedia production arm of Ms. Magazine that produces feminist podcasts and audio content, including On The Issues with Michele Goodwin, Fifteen Minutes of Feminism, Ms. Book Club, and United Bodies. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio for individual feminist-audio listeners.
• On The Issues with Michele Goodwin Ms. Studios flagship podcast hosted by Michele Goodwin featuring in-depth discussions on constitutionalism, democracy, reproductive rights, immigration, and other feminist issues, with guest experts and panel discussions. Targeted at individual listeners engaged with feminist legal and political analysis.
• Fifteen Minutes of Feminism Ms. Studios podcast series providing feminist news commentary and analysis in concise episodes for individual listeners seeking quick feminist news takes.
• Ms. Book Club Ms. Studios podcast focused on books and literary content through a feminist perspective for individual listeners interested in feminist literature.
• United Bodies Ms. Studios podcast covering issues of bodily autonomy and reproductive rights for individual listeners engaged with reproductive freedom issues.
• Ms. Membership Program Annual membership program offering print and/or digital magazine delivery, starting at $20 per year for new members with a 43% promotional discount, and including the FEMINIST 250 print issue and other benefits. Targeted at individual readers who want to support feminist journalism.
• Ms. Store Online e-commerce store selling branded Ms. Magazine merchandise including back issues, apparel, and other feminist products for individual supporters and readers.
• 50 Years of Ms. Anthology A 500+ page anthology book published September 19, 2023, celebrating the best of Ms. Magazine content over five decades, featuring writings by Toni Morrison, Billie Jean King, Alison Bechdel, Brittney Cooper, Joy Harjo, Audre Lorde and others. Sold at $50 hardcover and $14.99 ebook through major book retailers; targeted at individual readers, libraries, and academics.

Quantifiable outcome

• 43% discount offered for annual membership to mark FEMINIST 250 and 250th anniversary of US independence

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Feminist Majority FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMs. Magazine is wholly owned and published by the Feminist Majority Foundation since 2001. The Foundation provides organizational support, editorial oversight through executive editor Katherine Spillar who serves as FMF executive director, and programmatic integration with FMF's women's equality initiatives.
• Feminist.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeminist.org is the website of the Feminist Majority Foundation, integrated with Ms. Magazine's digital presence and RSS feeds. The site shares feminist newswire content and collaborates on advocacy campaigns.
• Feminist CampusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister organization focused on campus-based feminist activism and education, working in coordination with Ms. Magazine on coverage and content related to college and university feminist organizing.
• Girls Learn InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister organization focused on global girls' education and empowerment, aligned with Ms. Magazine's international coverage and feminist advocacy.
• Center for Reproductive RightsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization in the 'The Life I Built' campaign documenting how access to reproductive choices enabled women to build lives. Collaboration on reproductive rights content and advocacy.
• Reproductive Freedom for AllminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner organization in reproductive rights advocacy, collaborating on the 'The Life I Built' campaign to document personal stories about reproductive freedom.
• Pandia HealthminorGTM or Marketing PartnerReproductive health company advertising with Ms. Magazine, promoting birth control and reproductive health services to the magazine's audience. Includes sponsored content and affiliate partnerships.
• National Women's History AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on comprehensive women's rights history timeline as part of FEMINIST 250 project, tracing interconnected histories of feminism, abolition, labor organizing, civil rights, reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ liberation and democratic participation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Cut (New York Magazine): The Cut is New York Magazine's women's interest vertical covering feminism, politics, culture, and identity. It serves a comparable female-empowerment audience with overlapping editorial coverage of reproductive rights, work, and culture, though it is a vertical within a larger media company (Vox Media).
• The 19th News: Nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization covering gender, politics, and policy with similar editorial territory. Both serve as mission-driven feminist news outlets covering reproductive rights, voting rights, and women in democracy, and both rely on donations and memberships as core revenue.
• Jezebel: Digital-first feminist media outlet covering politics, culture, and women's issues for a similar audience. Both compete for the same feminist reader mindshare across politics, reproductive rights, and culture, though Jezebel is digital-only and operates at a different scale and ownership structure.
• Dame Magazine: Independent feminist digital publication covering news, politics, and culture. Compares as a smaller, digital-first feminist news outlet targeting a similar audience, though without the print magazine and broadcast podcast presence of Ms.
• Bitch Media: Independent nonprofit feminist media organization publishing a magazine and digital content on feminism, politics, and culture. Directly comparable in mission, nonprofit structure, magazine-plus-digital format, and audience of feminist readers and academics.
• Rewire News Group: Nonprofit newsroom covering reproductive rights, gender, and health policy. Overlaps significantly with Ms.'s core coverage areas of reproductive freedom, abortion access, and women's health, and operates on a similar nonprofit digital publishing model.

Broad incumbents

• Cosmopolitan: Established mass-market women's interest magazine covering politics, relationships, careers, and women's issues. A broad incumbent with comparable audience demographic (women interested in culture, career, and politics) and overlapping coverage of reproductive rights and gender issues, but operating at vastly larger scale within Hearst.
• Glamour: Major mainstream women's interest magazine covering politics, careers, health, and culture. Comparable audience and editorial overlap with Ms. on women's issues and feminist coverage, but operates at mass-market scale under Condé Nast with broader lifestyle focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/msmagazine
• Facebookfacebook.com/msmagazine
• Instagraminstagram.com/msmagazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ms.-magazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ms Magazine