Rodale, Inc.

Rodale, Inc. is an American publisher of health and wellness magazines, books, and digital properties.^[1] Rodale has two offices: the main headquarters in Emmaus, Pennsylvania and an office on New York City’s Third Avenue. Rodale, Inc. publishes some of the best-known health and wellness lifestyle magazines, including Men's Health and Prevention.

Rodale, Inc. is one of the largest independent book publishers in the United States. The company has published a collection of bestsellers, including An Inconvenient Truth and Eat This, Not That.

History

J. I. Rodale founded Rodale, Inc. in 1930. He was a partner with his brother Joseph in Rodale Manufacturing, manufacturer of electrical switches. Joseph moved Rodale Manufacturing to Emmaus, Pennsylvania to take advantage of favorable local taxes, while J. I. dabbled in publishing. In 1942, Rodale started Organic Farming and Gardening magazine. It taught people how to grow better food without using chemicals in the soil. Today, Organic Gardening is the most highly read gardening magazine in the world.^[2] In 1950, Rodale introduced Prevention, a health magazine.

In 1971, J. I. Rodale died during a taping of The Dick Cavett Show, and his son, Robert D. Rodale (1930–1990), took over the company’s leadership. On September 20, 1990, Robert Rodale was killed in a car accident during a business trip in Russia. Today, a park in Upper Macungie Township, Pennsylvania is named in his honor.

Following Robert Rodale's death, his wife, Ardath, became chairman and chief executive officer of the company. In 2000, Steven Pleshette Murphy joined the company as president and chief operating officer, and was named president and CEO in 2002.^[3] On June 18, 2007, Ardath Rodale stepped down as chairman, and her daughter, Maria, was named chairman. Ardath has remained a member of the company’s board, and took over the new title of Chief Inspiration Officer. On September 1, 2009, Murphy stepped down as President and CEO. Maria Rodale, granddaughter of company founder J.I. Rodale and its previous chairpersons Robert Rodale and Ardath Rodale, succeeded him as CEO.^[4]

Products

Magazines

• Prevention – #1 healthy lifestyle magazine brand and the 11th largest magazine in the nation, with more than 11 million readers.
• Men's Health – Largest men's lifestyle magazine brand in the world with 40 editions worldwide.^[5]
• Women's Health – Launched in October 2005; published 10 times a year.
• Runner's World – Launched in 1971; published 12 times a year; reach of 2.3 million readers.
• Running Times – Founded in 1977; purchased by Rodale, Inc. in 2007.
• Bicycling – Published 11 times a year
• Organic Gardening – Founded in 1942; published 6 times a year.

Books

• The South Beach Diet – Best-seller and the first book published on the widely-popular South Beach Diet.
• My Prison Without Bars – Viewed widely as Rose’s mea culpa attempt to reverse MLB’s decision to ban him from the game and the Baseball Hall of Fame because of his gambling violations.
• An Inconvenient Truth – Written by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore; published in May 2006; examines groundbreaking accounts of the devastating effects of global climate change.
• The Intellectual Devotional– A 3-part series where each book is a collection of 365 lessons that are intended to inspire the reader every day of the year. Each lesson is drawn from one of seven fields of knowledge: history, literature, philosophy, mathematics & science, religion, visual arts and music.
• Flat Belly Diet! – By Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass; published in January 2008 as a response to hearing from women across America struggling with belly fat. The diet reveals monounsaturated fatty acids (or MUFAs) specifically target belly fat and make weight loss easier.^[6]
• Eat This, Not That! – By David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding; published in December 2007. The book offers tricks and insider information on eating wherever you are. Eat This, Not That! for Kids was published in August 2008 and Eat This, Not That! Supermarkets was published in December 2008.
• New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer – By Bill Maher; published in 2005 and modeled around the segment New Rules, which appears on Maher's weekly program Real Time with Bill Maher.

Rodale.com

The site was officially launched on Earth Day, April 22, 2009^[7] with the tagline “where health meets green”. Rodale.com provides news and information to help readers improve their health while making a positive impact on the environment. The site includes daily news articles, videos, and in-depth topic pages. Rodale.com Editor-in-Chief and Rodale Chairman Maria Rodale authors the blog entitled Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen.

Rodale and The Biggest Loser

In 2005, Rodale partnered with Reveille, the producer of the NBC television show, The Biggest Loser. The partnership has produced:^[8]

• The Biggest Loser Complete Calorie Counter: The Quick and Easy Guide to Thousands of Foods from Grocery Stores and Popular Restaurants
• The Biggest Loser Cookbook: More Than 125 Healthy, Delicious Recipes
• The Biggest Loser Fitness Program: Fast, Safe, and Effective Workouts to Target and Tone Your Trouble Spots
• The Biggest Loser Success Secrets: The Wisdom, Motivation, and Inspiration to Lose Weight—and Keep It Off!
• The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook: Budget-Friendly Meals Your Whole Family Will Love
• The Biggest Loser 30-Day Jump Start
• The Biggest Loser Club launched October 2005 to coincide with Season 2. It mixes rich media, blogs, videos, and articles with weekly polls, quizzes, and newsletters.^[9]

Custom publishing

From 2005–2008, Rodale Custom Publishing earned nearly 90 content/design/strategy awards on behalf of its clients.^[10]

Philanthropy

• The Rose F. Kennedy Greenway: Rodale is a charter sponsor of the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway initiative from 2008 – 2010, and is providing cultural, sustainable, and diverse programming and developing a live and digital farmer’s market on the Greenway parcels.^[11]
• BikeTown Africa: The Rodale Institute partnered with BikeTown Africa and distributed 1,300 bicycles in the last 3 years, plus 200 to AIDS workers in Botswana and other stricken African countries.^[12]
• WaterWorks: Organic Gardening partnered with American Community Gardening Association. They brought sustainable water supply and improvement funds to 35 community gardens in North America in 2007-2008.^[13]
• The Rodale Institute works worldwide to achieve a regenerative food system that improves environmental and human health.^[14]
• Chez Panisse Foundation: The Rodale Institute is partners with the Chez Panisse Foundation in Berkeley, CA.^[15]
• New York Restoration Project: Projects include the Rodale Pleasant Park Community Garden in Harlem. Rodale, Inc. Vice Chairman Maria Rodale is a NYRP board member.^[16]
• Local Community Farmers Markets: Rodale supports local farmers and locally-grown organic crops through financial aid to offset operating costs of community farmers’ markets.^[17]

References

External links

• Official Rodale, Inc. Corporate Web Site.
• Rodale.com - Where Health Meets Green.
• Rodale Online Store.
• Men's Health magazine Web Site.
• Women's Health magazine Web Site.
• Prevention magazine Web Site.
• Bicycling magazine Web Site.
• Runner's World magazine Web Site.
• Biggest Loser Club Diet Club Web Site Managed by Rodale.
• Sugar Solution Diet Diet Club Web Site Managed by Rodale.