What comes to mind when you think of New England? For most of us it’s the Maine coastline, or the rugged mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. It could be the founding moments of the United States at places like Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill. Or the mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, and the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics. Even more, it’s the picture postcard villages in Connecticut and the Berkshires. It’s the birthplace of abolition and the mighty factories of the Merrimack and Connecticut river valleys. It’s colorful fall foliage.
New England is still more than that—it’s great universities, cutting-edge tech companies, great healthcare systems. The list goes on.
Whatever New England evokes, Yankee Magazine has been there to chronicle this region to the world, reflect it back to its readers, and amplify it to the rest of the country. Very few media brands have become as ingrained in the life and culture of the area they cover. Perhaps Texas Monthly, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, or Sunset Magazine. But few have lasted as long as Yankee (founded in 1935) or its sibling title, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, a title that’s been published in three separate centuries and been around nearly as long as the nation itself.
Yankee is a heritage brand. It’s become synonymous with its region. And it’s lived on through dramatic change, such as the emergence of television in the post-World War II era, the emergence of the internet, the dot-com revolution, and now artificial intelligence. We had an opportunity to speak with Yankee Publishing’s CEO, Ernesto Burden, and we leapt at the chance. Here’s our Q&A.
Fox Tales: You took over for Jamie Trowbridge, who’d been CEO for 25 years. What are your priorities for ensuring both continuity and innovation?
Ernesto Burden.
Ernesto Burden: In a company as storied as ours, the tension between tradition and innovation is both real and an opportunity, in part because innovation has always been part of the company’s DNA. Stewardship mandates that we continue to hew to that tradition while moving quickly to adopt technology and find new ways of working that create more bandwidth to deliver value for our audiences and the company.
One of the ways we’ll do that is, in keeping with our employee ownership, by bringing the whole company even more deeply into strategic planning and product development.
I also want to note that Jamie was a great leader who brought the company through some very challenging times. While we won’t approach everything exactly the same way, I absolutely want to carry forward the spirit of wisdom, humanity and attention to each individual on our team with which he led.
Fox Tales: The media industry has changed dramatically even in the seven years you’ve been at Yankee Publishing. What are the primary challenges and opportunities?
Burden: This year, of course, a major part of that answer is going to be AI: What do we absolutely have to use it for, and what should we never use it for? But AI isn’t the whole story. Technology more broadly is changing everything from readership habits to the ways in which we drive both consumer and advertising sales.
Our ability to create repeatable, effective and scalable processes has never been more critical. At the same time, some of those technological changes are creating new demand among digitally saturated audiences for high-quality niche print products and live, in-person experiences. That creates some interesting opportunities for a company like YPI.
Fox Tales: Yankee Magazine (and the other media components of the brand) are among the most famous and revered media names in the country. How has its editorial mission changed over 90-plus years?
Burden: Yankee’s content has changed considerably over the nearly 90 years we’ve been around. But I think its fundamental mission, described in the first issue, remains: The expression of the culture of New England.
How we fulfill that mission has changed stylistically over the years, just as fashions and musical tastes have. But our corporate mission statement remains timeless: “Yankee Publishing’s media brands connect you to what is fundamental and enjoyable in your life—to the natural world, to where you live and the places you love, to your family and heritage.”
Fox Tales: Your company also owns The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which has been publishing for an incredible 234 years. What’s the secret?
Burden: Three things come to mind: Incredible attention to creating superb content; the affection readers feel for a brand that connects them so well to both their heritage and their current lives; and relentless innovation.
That last one, whether expressed through the constant exploration of new distribution channels or the enthusiastic adoption of new technology, may seem counterintuitive for a heritage brand. In fact, it may be the only way a brand survives long enough to earn that much history.
Fox Tales: How have readers changed? How have marketers changed in what they need from a media business?
Burden: The obvious answer might be to list all the different ways readers consume content, all the different types of content vying for their fragmented attention, and the disrupted environment in which advertisers are trying to reach them. And all of that is true.
But the other side of the coin is that readers are still looking for stories that create meaning and context in their lives. I was at the Boston Ad Club’s Innovation Day recently, and top national marketers were saying the same thing: it’s about the storytelling.
To the degree that we can serve our readers in that way, we remain a great vehicle for connecting them with businesses and services that can meet their needs.
Fox Tales: One final question: Tell us how employee ownership is proceeding. It’s a somewhat unusual corporate structure.
Burden: Employee ownership is incredibly powerful. The value our team of employee owners builds in this company accrues as wealth that belongs to them. They have a stake in the business that goes far beyond this week’s paycheck.
Because of that, I felt it was also time to move toward a more open-book management style. I want each member of our team to understand the drivers of the business. I believe that when they do, they will be better positioned to understand how their own role can help improve it, drive innovation and create sustainable growth.