Reader's Digest

Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine published monthly by The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.. As of 2004, the U.S. edition of Reader's Digest prints 12.5 million copies and reaches 44 million readers each month. Although its circulation has declined in recent years, the Audit Bureau of Circulations says Reader's Digest is the best-selling general magazine in the United States, exceeded only by the membership publications of AARP.

International editions

Although Reader's Digest was founded in the U.S., its international editions have made it the best-selling monthly magazine in the world. The magazine's worldwide circulation including all editions has reached 21 million copies and over 100 million readers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first international edition was published in the United Kingdom in 1938. Reader's Digest is currently published in 48 editions and 19 languages and is available in over 60 countries.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - 1938

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Its 48 foreign editions, which account for about 50% of its trade volume, are controlled from the American headquarters. Except for 2 or 3 articles in each issue, they are entirely composed of articles taken from the US edition. The local editorial staff comprise a handful of people that make selections from the US edition and commission local content pieces, subject to the approval of the American headquarters. The selected articles are then translated by local translators and the translations edited by the local editors to make them match the "well-educated informal" style of the American edition.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Canadian edition

The Canadian edition first appeared in February 1948, and today the vast majority of it is Canadian content. All major articles in the August 2005 edition and most of the minor articles were selected from locally-produced articles that matched the Digest style. There is usually at least one major American article in most issues.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Localization procedures

Considerable efforts are made to give the foreign editions a local look to make sure the Digest is never seen to be a threat to the local cultural identity, as imported American cultural products often are. All editions have the table of contents on the front cover, but while the American edition also lists the authors of the articles or the (American) publications they have been taken from, the foreign editions list only titles. Advertisement placement in the local editions are entirely managed by the local staff and reflect local products.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many American articles are integrated within the local context. For instance, in an article on air travel, John F. Kennedy Airport will be replaced by a local airport and references to American airlines with information on local companies. Local statistics may be added, currencies and measures will be adapted. Local names, quotes or pictures of local sights will sometimes replace the original ones. All those operations are called "localisation" by the Digest editors: they are performed by the local editors according to general central rules but without specific US control.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another, similar intervention is to complement the numerous sections featuring short anecdotes (such as Quotable Quotes, Points to Ponder, Humor in Uniform, etc) with local anecdotes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Local editions also avoid reprinting articles which may touch on sensitive spots in the receiving culture - for instance, the Italian edition will not select articles which are critical of Catholicism. In general, the local editions will also avoid to select texts which are too closely linked to very specific American situations. The few articles written by local authors always deal with local topics.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~