Dolly magazine’s demise is the end of an era for Australian women

Neil Frankland
Nov 30, 2016, updated Dec 01, 2016

For countless Australian women who grew up flicking through the pages of teen Bible Dolly magazine, next Monday will be a day of mourning.

Bauer Media announced on Wednesday that after 46 years, next week’s print edition of Dolly will be its last, as the latest generation of teenage girls increasingly look online for their diet of news, gossip, tips and advice.

The demise of Dolly comes just seven months after Bauer dropped its long-standing monthly edition to a bi-monthly.

“Dolly readers predominantly engage with the brand on digital and social platforms, and they do so with greater frequency than is possible with a bi-monthly magazine – this means it’s no longer feasible to continue publishing the magazine on a regular basis,” Nick Chan, CEO at Bauer Media, said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Dolly has played a part in the lives of many Australians over the years, which is why we’re delighted its outstanding content continues but now, exclusively, on the channels today’s teens prefer to interact with most.”

It has certainly played a part in the lives of Australians, but sadly less and less in the digital age.

First launched in 1970, Dolly helped change the way adolescent girls thought of themselves and their place in the world.

Its pages were filled with frank stories about relationships, sex and body image, while regular segments like ‘Dolly Doctor’ became talking points for many.

Many notable women first came to Australia’s attention via Dolly, either on its pages or behind the scenes.

Nicole Kidman featured on the cover in 1983, before her breakout movie role in BMX Bandits the same year.

The annual Dolly modelling competition proved a goldmine for agencies searching for new talent, with a 13-year-old Miranda Kerr among the ‘discoveries’ after her 1997 appearance.

Nicole Kidman and Miranda Kerr are just two of the notable women to grace Dolly‘s cover as teens.

And among the journalists putting it all together was a 21-year-old Lisa Wilkinson, who became the magazine’s youngest editor when she took the helm in 1981.

Wilkinson, who went on to become become editor of Cleo magazine and is now co-host of Channel Nine’s Today show, told News Corp the end of Dolly was inevitable.

“I’m incredibly sad hearing the news and feel for all the journalists who are losing their jobs, but in the ever-changing world – and possibly an industry that was slow to recognise the changes that were happening at warped speed – it looks like it was inevitable,” she was quoted as saying.

The full-time staff affected by the closure of the print magazine are expected to be offered other positions within Bauer.

Sad to learn of passing of #Dolly magazine – a bible to so many generations of young Aussie women & where so many of us got our start. Vale.

— Lisa Wilkinson (@Lisa_Wilkinson) November 30, 2016

Wilkinson wasn’t the only one saddened by the end of Dolly, with the hashtag #RIPDolly attracting an outpouring of nostalgia.

#RIPDolly loved reading you in the 80s @Lisa_Wilkinson @MiaFreedman pic.twitter.com/ZNs38vFbvo

— Sue Cartwright (@SueCartwright1) November 30, 2016

I used to hide it in my schoolbag. My little bro bought me one for my birthday. I owed hair inspo to it. #ripdolly https://t.co/7fzqJUYBzT

— Sarah Ayoub | سارة ايوب (@bysarahayoub) November 30, 2016

For many, the loss of their beloved magazine MD, Dolly Doctor, was the low-point of the magazine’s cancellation.

And ironically, the news comes a week after a University of Newcastle study found Dolly Doctor to be the most trustworthy of all Australia’s magazine-based physicians.

https://twitter.com/stephameye/status/803885814216212480

Sadly, though inevitably, the circulation of Dolly magazine has been in decline for several years.

The monthly readership dropped from 92,153 between January and June 2012 to 50,125 for the same period last year and just 28,030 shortly before it became a bi-monthly magazine in April.