READER'S DIGEST TO GET MAJOR OVERHAUL

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Reader's Digest, the most widely read magazine in the
world, will get a new look in a bid to attract younger readers, its parent
company said Monday.

The move comes as Reader's Digest Association Inc. has struggled to boost
profits. But industry analysts said its problems stretch beyond changes
that were needed at the magazine.

Starting with the May issue, the magazine's familiar table of contents on
the cover will be gone, replaced with a photograph. The small size and
focus of the editorial content will be unchanged, publisher Gregory Coleman
said.

``It will be a much more visual magazine, with lots more photography and
less illustrations,'' he said in an interview.

The May issue will feature a cover photo of a woman firefighter for an
excerpt from a new book, ``Fighting Fire.'' The new look will be in all 48
editions in 19 languages.

``We've done a lot of research, and have tested the concept in the U.S.,
Sweden, and New Zealand,'' Coleman said. ``What we're doing is creating an
opportunity where a new, different set of consumers will be more ready to
pick the magazine up.''

Coleman said the redesign was meant to attract younger readers but that
Reader's Digest was not being made over for them.

Publishing industry executives and Wall Street analysts have criticized the
magazine for failing to attract the next generation of readers. The company
says its average reader is about 47, the same as the age for the weekly
news magazines.

``They've been looking for ways to make the magazine a little bit more the
`90s than the `50s,'' said Doug Arthur at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.

``The challenge for Reader's Digest magazine is to make it a little more
contemporary without alienating its older audience. That's a very fine line
to walk, and this seems a logical move,'' Arthur said.

Coleman said the company surveyed focus groups to ensure longtime readers
would not be turned off by the changes.

The new look comes while Reader's Digest Association has struggled.

It said last August that earnings for the current year would drop from a
year earlier as it seeks to boost results in direct marketing of books,
videotapes, and music. It also brought Chief Executive George Grune out of
retirement last August to lead a four-year restructuring.

``There are so many things Reader's Digest needs to address,'' said Rudy
Hokanson at Oppenheimer & Co. ``The company has to be addressing the
response rate on its direct marketing campaign,'' where its main problems lie.

The company earned $133.5 million on sales of $2.8 billion in the year
ended last June. But it said when it reported results that profits would
fall in the current year.

The magazine, with 15 million subscribers in the United States and 28
million worldwide, is the company's flagship property.

In answer to a question, Coleman said the redesign was not done because of
advertisers, although they were enthusiastic about the changes. ``This is
being done from a reader-driven standpoint,'' he said.

Reader's Digest stock rose 31 cents to $26.75 in consolidated New York
Stock Exchange trading in early afternoon.