Femina (South Africa)

Femina
US model/actor Cindy Crawford on the cover of the December 2000 issue
CategoriesWomen's magazine
Circulation37,289[1]
Publisher
  • Republican Press
  • Associated Magazines
  • Raphaely Kuhnel Pub.
  • Media24
First issue1982; 42 years ago (1982)
Final issue17 March 2010 (2010-03-17)
CompanyMedia24
CountrySouth Africa
Based inCape Town
LanguageEnglish
ISSN0256-0313
OCLC610994080

Femina (stylized in all caps) was a women's magazine that was published in South Africa from 1982 to 2010.[1][2][3] It was marketed toward older women, and for a time it was one of the leading special-interest magazines in South Africa.[1][4] In the late 2000s the magazine was affected by the Great Recession, but they were also struggling to compete in the market—partially owing to the proliferation of localised editions of international magazines.[1][4] It ceased publication in March 2010 due to a decrease in both sales and advertising revenue.[4] The April 2010 issue was the final one.[1]

History

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Femina was originally published by Republican Press in Durban. In a November 1987 Sunday Times interview with Jani Allan, Jane Raphaely revealed that she was set to become editor-in-chief of the magazine, and spoke about managing the magazine at the same time as Cosmopolitan: "I would say I’m completely involved – but not partisan. After 12 years of feminism women have still not earned the right to be diverse. They seem to be perceived as homogeneity whereas, in fact, they differ. That’s why their magazines must differ."[5] Raphael's company, Associated Magazines in Cape Town acquired Femina and published their first issue in April 1988. The magazine was later published by Raphaely Kuhnel Publishing (also of Cape Town), which sold it in 2006 to Media24 (part of the media conglomerate Naspers).[1][2][3] At the time of Femina's closure, Media24 was the predominant publisher of consumer magazines in South Africa.[4][6] Its other women's magazines included Fair Lady, Sarie, and True Love.[6]

As of 1992, editor-in-chief Jane Raphaely was also chief editor of the South African edition of Cosmopolitan.[7] Features editor and columnist Laura Twiggs also presented a weekly chat show on the arts for Fine Music Radio in Cape Town.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Farewell to Femina". SA People News. 25 February 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Femina". WorldCat. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b Turok, Karina (2006). Life and Soul: Portraits of Women Who Move South Africa. Double Storey Books. p. I. ISBN 978-1-77013-043-2. OCLC 749963384. In 1986 Associated Magazines was founded to publish Femina, House and Leisure, Baby and Me, Brides and Homes, and Marie Claire.
  4. ^ a b c d Jeffreys, Andrew, ed. (2012). The Report: South Africa 2012. Oxford Business Group. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-907065-57-6. OCLC 926275997.
  5. ^ Allan, Jani. "Jani Allan's Week", Sunday Times (South Africa), 1 November 1987
  6. ^ a b "Women's magazine Femina now in Media24 stable". Mail & Guardian. M&G Media. 23 November 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  7. ^ Russell, Diana (1997) [1996]. "US Pornography Invades South Africa". In Bell, Diane; Klein, Renate (eds.). Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed. Spinifex Press. p. 431. ISBN 978-1-875559-38-1. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  8. ^ Balseiro, Isabel; Masilela, Ntongela, eds. (2003). "Contributors". To Change Reels: Film and Culture in South Africa. Wayne State University Press. p. xii. OCLC 237796366.

Further reading

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  • Alozie, Emmanuel C., ed. (2011). Advertising in Developing and Emerging Countries: The Economic, Political and Social Context. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-566-09174-2. OCLC 953858445.