Obamas Boost Magazine Sales

I know I bought a few: Time, Newsweek, People, Men's Vogue. Obama's also on Men's Health out this month.

NYT: There’s something familiar about the upcoming issue of Us Weekly.

For the second week in a row, and the third time in six months, Barack Obama is pictured on the magazine’s cover, this time in a white oxford shirt, hugging his daughters, Malia and Sasha.

Last week, President-elect Obama appeared with his wife, Michelle, under the headline, “Their Amazing Journey.”

Mr. Obama’s status as a recurring cover star is thanks in part to the healthy sales that the Obamas bring in. Last week’s issue sold more than 1.1 million copies on the newsstand, and in June the issue with the Obamas on the cover sold about 900,000 copies. That is just about what the magazine sells when it puts its array of Hollywood celebrities on the cover.

The Obamas’ starring role is not just about magazine sales. It also reflect the rise of politics as an entertainment theme. Janice Min, the editor of Us Weekly, has vastly increased the coverage of politics under her tenure, and Jann Wenner, the publisher of the magazine, wrote an admiring profile of Mr. Obama for Rolling Stone earlier this year.