Why Is ‘Highlights Magazine’ Only Ever In Doctors Offices?
This is an honest question. I used to love Highlights Magazine. I didn’t even mind that some other kid already circled everything and wrote in all of their answers before me. I still loved it. Scratch that, I still love it! But I never thought of getting a subscription. Actually – I never had any friends who had a subscription. What’s up with that? Why is it that Highlights is pretty much “the waiting room magazine”?
Well, I did a little research and it turns out that it’s not by chance. Highlights Magazine started in 1946 as a family business/publication. It had a great start but it dwindled in popularity in the 1950’s. When Garry Cleveland Myers Jr. took over the family business, he had a new vision for distribution of the educational children’s publication – WAITING ROOMS!
His plan was to deliver some samples of the magazines to doctors and dentist offices nationwide. He thought it was the perfect magazine to calm kids nerves ahead of an appointment and that parents would feel good about it because it’s educational! The move was a big hit – Highlights became a staple of waiting rooms everywhere. Mom and dad looked at People or Field & Stream while junior did puzzles and read riddles in Highlights.
Why didn’t any kids I know have subscriptions? That’s still a mystery. Maybe moms and dads wanted to keep the magic alive for when they really needed it. Maybe it’s something else. Who knows? But Highlights is still chugging along today and even has multiple apps, a tablet version of the magazine, and even a podcast (doesn’t everyone have one nowadays?). However waiting rooms remain a core focus for Highlights. They’ve even more recently started sending samples to mechanics and nail salons. I hope modern kids love it half as much as I did – it still gives me the warm-n-fuzzies.
