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WWF Launches Print & Digital Magazine

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Washington, D.C., is making its first foray into the world of journalism, today launching World Wildlife magazine. The publication is available in both print and digital versions.

A quarterly, 64-page publication, World Wildlife will provide readers with updates about WWF’s work and in-depth looks at the connections between animals, people and the planet. According to Editorial Director Alex MacLennan, the magazine’s print editions will reach 90,000 WWF members who contribute $250 or more a year, or who have a history of consistent support. A print “digest” version, which will have less content than the full print edition, will be sent to 275,000 WWF members who contribute $30 or more per year. Regardless of the amount contributed, a donor will receive the appropriate version for a year following the commitment.

“It’s more of a ‘thank-you gift’ than a subscription,” explained MacLennan.

A free version of the magazine is available on WWF’s website and on the iPad, and will be sent to WWF’s email subscriber list of 2.5 million. It will later be available on Android and other tablet devices. The digital version of the magazine includes videos and infographics. For example, the debut edition includes a video that features an interview with a man from Mozambique named Ishmael (MacLennan dubs it “the Ishmael video”) who tells the story of how WWF has helped him.

“We want to make sure that our existing supporters know about what we are doing, but we also want it to be available to anyone else who might be interested,” said MacLennan.

MacLennan says the first formal discussions about World Wildlife began about a year and half ago, but the project has existed before that. “It was discussed in more of a ‘wouldn’t it be nice’ capacity a year before [the formal discussions],” he explained.

The debut issue of World Wildlife features a piece from a WWF member on why she loves big cats, a conversation between WWF President & CEO Carter Roberts and World Bank Group President Dr. Jim Yong Kim, and a piece that describes how the process of creating ramen noodles can negatively impact wildlife in Malaysia and Indonesia.

MacLennan said that while the lead stories for the Winter 2013 edition were written by a mix of staff and freelance writers, they are hoping to bring on some more internal employees to contribute to the magazine’s future content.

The second edition will be released sometime in February 2014. That issue will feature a glimpse at the nation Myanmar, which only just recently opened up to the world, and an update on wildlife crime in the United States.

“We hope to do theme editions on some of the big issues out there, but we are still getting our legs underneath us,” he said. You can view the debut edition of World Wildlife online by visiting http://worldwildlife.org/magazine