‘Glamour’ Magazine Shuttering Print Operations to Publish Digital Only

Condé Nast announced Tuesday that it plans to shut down print operations for one of its glossy publications. The 80-year-old Glamour magazine will publish its last print issue in January, before shifting to a digital-only operation.

“This is my plan, because it makes sense,” the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Samantha Barry, said. “[Digital is] where the audiences are, and it’s where our growth is. That monthly schedule, for a Glamour audience, doesn’t make sense anymore.”

Although the number of Glamour’s paid subscribers has remained stable over the last three years, at around 2.2 million, Ms. Barry said it was time for the publication to break away from the printed page.

“This is my plan, because it makes sense,” Ms. Barry, a former executive producer for social and emerging media at CNN Worldwide, said in an interview. “It’s where the audiences are, and it’s where our growth is. That monthly schedule, for a Glamour audience, doesn’t make sense anymore.”

The editor added that the magazine might still publish occasional print issues centered on its annual Women of the Year award or topics like power and money. Online access to Glamour will remain free for now; it has not been determined how the special print issues will be made available.

Ms. Barry, 37, took over the top editorial position at Glamour after Cindi Leive had run the magazine for 16 years. She seemed to hint at its digital future soon after accepting the job, when she said in an interview with The New York Times, “Glamour is a brand — it’s not just a magazine.”

In a statement, Anna Wintour, the editor in chief of Vogue and Condé Nast’s artistic director, called Ms. Barry “a change-maker — the embodiment of the modern Glamour woman.”

“I am thrilled with her plan for Glamour’s future,” Ms. Wintour said. “She’ll be reaching the title’s loyal readers on the digital and social platforms they use most, while using the power of print to highlight tentpole moments like Women of the Year.”

Glamour’s digital audience has grown since Ms. Barry took the helm. The magazine’s monthly unique viewers have risen 12 percent, to 6.3 million. Subscribers to Glamour’s YouTube channel have increased more than 110 percent, to about 1.6 million.