Oprah magazine to add paywall, new name for quarterly bookazine

Oprah Winfrey and Hearst on Monday pulled back the curtain on their plans for O, the Oprah Magazine, including a paywall and new leadership team.

The magazine, which stopped regular publication at the end of 2020, has recruited Alison Overholt as general manager from ESPN, where she was senior vice president of storytelling and a former editor-in-chief of ESPN’s The Magazine.

Arianna Davis has been promoted to senior director of editorial and strategy, a new position.

Davis and Overholt will be charged with putting together a new staff, quarterly magazine and new membership service, which will offer unrestricted access to all-new digital content plus the 20 year archives. A print publication with a new name and high newsstand price will debut in late March and publish four times a year.

After shuttering the print publication, the company laid off 59 people effective Feb. 15, according to a WARN notice filed with the New York State Department of Labor in early December.

Gayle King, Oprah’s bestie and host of CBS “This Morning,” Adam Glassman and Leigh Haber will remain with the brand, according to the announcement by Winfrey, Hearst Magazines President Debi Chirichella and Hearst Magazines Chief Content Officer Kate Lewis.

“From my first conversation with Alison, it was clear that she understands who we are and what we want to be for our readers: an inspiring, informative, authentic presence in their lives,” said Winfrey in a statement announcing the changes.