The Atlantic magazine set to introduce paywall, reports the WSJ

The Atlantic magazine is charting a new course, reports the Wall Street Journal. 

The 162-year-old magazine is reportedly gearing up to introduce a paywall some time after Labor Day. 

Last year, The Atlantic put on hold its plans for a paywall reportedly at the behest of its new owner, philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, who wanted the magazine to first hire new staffers and improve its platform, betting that those changes would help expand offerings and draw more readers. 

Atlantic President Bob Cohn said that when Powell Jobs explained the details of her investment plan to the magazine’s managers, they felt delaying the paywall launch made sense. “We were about to make dozens of hires that would ultimately lead to the creation of an even better paywall,” said Cohn,
who is leaving in early September for a fellowship at Harvard. People at the Atlantic said Powell Jobs has taken a mostly hands-off approach to day-to-day matters, but weighs in on key decisions.

In July, 2017, Powell Jobs bought a majority stake in the magazine through her Emerson Collective which she founded in 2004 with the aim of using entrepreneurship to advance social reform and support education causes. She is the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs and has an estimated $20.7 billion fortune.

The Atlantic was founded in Boston in 1857.