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The Seven Sisters are a group of magazines which have traditionally been aimed at married women who are homemakers with husbands and children, rather than single and working women. The name is derived from the Greek myth of the "seven sisters", also known as the Pleiades. Five of the magazines are still published: *''Better Homes and Gardens'' *''Good Housekeeping'' *''Family Circle'' *''Redbook'' *''Woman's Day'' The sixth sister, ''Ladies' Home Journal'' ceased monthly publication in April 2014 as Meredith stated they would be "transitioning ''Ladies' Home Journal'' to a special interest publication". The seventh sister, ''McCall's'', ceased publication in 2002 after an ill-fated attempt to rebrand itself (under the name ''Rosie'') by teaming up with talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell. O'Donnell and the publisher were unable to agree upon editorial decisions, and both parties filed breach-of-contract lawsuits against the other. After a wave of consolidation and mergers, two companies now own the six remaining sisters: Meredith Corporation publishes ''Better Homes and Gardens'', ''Family Circle'', and ''Ladies' Home Journal''; and Hearst Corporation publishes ''Good Housekeeping,'' ''Redbook,'' and ''Woman's Day''. While their circulation has slipped from their figures in the 1960s and 1970s, they are among the highest circulation magazines in the United States.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Average Total Paid & Verified Circulation for Top 100 ABC Magazines: 2008 )〕 ==History== While all seven of the magazines were aimed at women, they all had divergent beginnings. ''Family Circle'' and ''Woman's Day'' were both originally conceived as circulars for grocery stores (Piggly Wiggly and A&P); ''McCall's'' and ''Redbook'' were known for a text-heavy format focusing on quality fiction; ''Good Housekeeping'' was aimed at affluent housewives. ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was originally a single-page supplement to a general interest magazine, while ''Better Homes and Gardens'' began as a blending of woman's magazine and home design journal. Through the 1990s, in the face of declining readership and advertising revenue, the Seven Sisters attempted to differentiate themselves from each other and from the rest of the market, relying on either incremental tweaks to their formula or wholesale changes in the format of the magazine.〔 In recent years, the focus has been on minor changes, such as updating the visual appeal or improving the paper stock on which the magazine is printed. The Seven Sisters formerly had much larger circulation figures than at present. In 1979, their combined circulation was 45 million; that figure dropped to 37 million a decade later. By 2008, the six surviving sisters had a combined circulation of 26 million.〔 Much of the loss has been attributed to readers seeking out more specialized magazines.〔 Despite the steep drop in readership, five of the sisters were among the top ten paid and verified circulation magazines in the United States in 2008, according to the Magazine Publishers of America, an industry trade group.〔 ''Redbook'' was the only one of the sisters which did not reach the top ten; it was ranked number 29 in the MPA list for 2008.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Seven Sisters (magazines)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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