The top-ranked magazines in 2011 were published by the AARP and were geared toward the older population, which is America’s fastest-growing age segment (although it should be noted that these magazines are sent free to AARP members). Reader’s Digest has consistently been successful through the years, perhaps due to its broad appeal. Almost all of the other magazines are geared toward women, who have traditionally constituted a lucrative consumer market due to newsstand and supermarket single-copy sales.

Playboy originally emphasized subject matter that was taboo on television. Its circulation peaked in the 1960s but fell throughout the 1970s as the magazine faced competition from imitators and video. Today, the Internet has become a major competitor for Playboy, which may have lost readers to online content. The magazine has also faced criticism for “packaging women” over the years. Newer men’s magazines have shifted focus to include health (Men’s Health) and lifestyle (Details and Maxim).