One of the jokes around here is that for all the time, effort, and headache we invest in our cover stories and feature stories, just about every reader starts with the Kichels.
Of course that’s only a partial picture of readers’ likes and dislikes, but the underlying point is true: The weightiest piece isn’t always the most popular or the most discussed. And it’s definitely not the one that gets first billing when typical readers pick up their magazine.
We’ve asked many readers to describe their “Mishpacha routine”: When you sit down at the table or on the couch with your magazine, what do you open to first? And it’s a rare reader who starts with the cover story. Most are drawn to the short pieces — the easily digestible, less intimidating, more visual items or story-based items. In discussions with our staff, I describe these pieces as “you see the beginning and you see the end without having to turn the page.” It sounds funny, but I think that’s a big part of the appeal.
Our readers might be curious or excited about a cover story, but these long pieces require commitment. They require time. They require focus. So most readers save the heavy, deep-immersion reads for when they have the right chunk of time and the headspace. Sometimes that’s later on Friday night, sometimes it’s after Shabbos, and sometimes the magic combination never happens.
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