After 6 Years, Lear’s Will Fold With Publication of April Issue

Frances Lear, owner and founder of Lear’s, announced Thursday that the New York City-based magazine will cease publication after the April issue.

Lear began her magazine in 1988, directing it toward intelligent, mature women who were looking for more than fashion and beauty stories in a women’s magazine.

“I believed a magazine could hold up a mirror for women over 40 and raise their self-image. Lear’s made older women visible in a culture that overlooked them,” Lear said in her farewell address.

The magazine’s circulation reached 503,000 last year, but it was plagued with advertising difficulties. As a single publication, Lear’s was unable to match the attractive group advertising rates offered by its Conde Nast competitors.

Lear does not plan to abandon her audience, just her medium. Her next venture is videotapes. Lear Television’s first video subject, scheduled for summer release, is women and money.

“The future is in direct-marketing products to a mass audience of women through advanced telecommunications,” Lear said.

The Lear’s staff will remain on the payroll until March 25. Caroline Miller, Lear’s former editor-in-chief, left last month to become editor of Seventeen magazine.