About MÜNSTER! Magazin

MÜNSTER! Magazin

MÜNSTER! Magazin — "Die starken Seiten der Stadt" — is the monthly regional magazine for Münster in Westphalia. Published by the Stadtlust-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, it appears eleven times a year (with a July/August double issue) in the 200 × 270 mm format, at 4.90 euros per issue and 39.90 euros for the annual subscription. With a total circulation of 12,500 copies — 9,688 sold (78 percent), 1,280 in the Lesezirkel (10 percent), 1,533 free copies (12 percent) — it is the city magazine that Münster's readers pay for: since the September 2020 fusion of two titles and the comprehensive relaunch, the paying subscriber base has grown by more than 30 percent. The print magazine is complemented by the daily Instagram impulses (around 7,000 followers) and the muenster-magazin.com website, plus the "unterwegs" reader tours in cooperation with the Westfälische Nachrichten. In the German city-magazine landscape, MÜNSTER! is the Münster institution: the monthly magazine of the Westphalian metropolis.

Overview

The magazine presents itself as the monthly regional magazine that individually delights and successfully performs — the city magazine with the individually tailored content and the lively storytelling through strong images and a sympathetic narrative style. Its editorial program covers Münster's city life: the people — the portraits, the interviews, and the personalities that shape the city; the culture — the exhibitions, the concerts, the theater, and the events; the city — the urban development, the neighborhoods, the architecture, and the public life; the gastronomy — the restaurants, the cafés, and the food culture; and the services — the shopping, the leisure, and the practical city knowledge.

The readership is Münster's city-interested public: the residents who want to know their city, the newcomers, and the region's visitors — the readers who pay for the magazine at the newsstand and by subscription. The magazine's authority rests on its paid circulation: with 78 percent sold copies, it documents the readers' willingness to pay — the "Zuspruch der Leser" that the media kit evidences with the subscriber growth of over 30 percent since the 2020 fusion. The Instagram community (around 7,000 followers) extends the monthly print magazine into the daily exchange.

The eleven-issues-a-year rhythm — monthly with the July/August double issue — follows the city's year: the issues for the seasons, the events, and the city's topics. The "unterwegs" reader tours — the day trips (Duisburg's inland harbor, the "Tuscany of the North," Eupen) in cooperation with the Westfälische Nachrichten and chrono tours — extend the magazine into the travel experiences: the subscriber prices (99.90–114.90 euros) and the guided programs. The magazine's format — 200 × 270 mm, the generous magazine format — gives the strong images their space: the visual storytelling that the media kit promises as the magazine's signature.

History

MÜNSTER! Magazin's current form dates to September 2020: the fusion of two titles and the comprehensive relaunch in the pandemic year. The merger consolidated Münster's city-magazine market into one title — the MÜNSTER! Magazin that convinced in the hard-fought market with its high sold circulation. The relaunch's success is documented in the numbers: since the fusion, the paying subscriber base grew by more than 30 percent — the readers' vote for the new magazine.

The publishing house — the Stadtlust-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, An der Hansalinie 1, 48163 Münster (AG Münster HRA 9573; personally liable partner: Stadtmagazin Verlag Verwaltungs GmbH, AG Münster HRB 14321; managing director: Marc Arne Schümann) — built the magazine's commercial infrastructure: the media kit, the advertising sales (Myriam Bockhöfer-Horstmann at the Aschendorff Medien), and the editorial team (Jörg Heithoff, Simone Wessels). The Aschendorff Medien connection — the Münster media house behind the Westfälische Nachrichten — links the magazine to the region's media landscape.

The magazine's digital extension — the daily Instagram impulses, the website, the newsletter — made the monthly print magazine into the continuous city-media brand. The 2023 media kit documents the established program: the 12,500 total circulation, the 9,688 sold copies, and the community metrics. The magazine's commercial partnerships — the Aschendorff Medien's sales infrastructure, the Westfälische Nachrichten's tour cooperation — embed the independent Stadtlust-Verlag title in Münster's media landscape: the city magazine with the regional media house's backing — and the readers' demonstrated willingness to pay for quality local journalism, month after month, year after year, in Germany's most livable city.

Coverage and Content

The magazine's coverage follows Münster's city life. People and portraits form the core: the Münster personalities — the entrepreneurs, the artists, the athletes, the volunteers — presented with the strong images and the sympathetic narrative style that the media kit promises. Culture covers the city's program: the exhibitions, the concerts, the theater, the festivals, and the events calendar.

City and urban life cover the Westphalian metropolis: the neighborhoods, the architecture, the urban development projects, the university city, and the public debates — the magazine as the forum of the city's self-understanding. Gastronomy and lifestyle cover the enjoyable Münster: the restaurants, the cafés, the bars, the shopping, and the leisure — the service journalism that the readers use for their city life.

The "unterwegs" reader tours extend the coverage into the travel: the guided day trips — the Duisburg inland-harbor logistics tour, the "Tuscany of the North" (Wolfenbüttel, Braunschweig, Oker raft trip), the Eupen/Ostbelgien excursion — with the subscriber prices and the comfort-bus programs, in cooperation with the Westfälische Nachrichten. The magazine's event partnerships — the city festivals, the cultural institutions, the business networks — connect the editorial coverage with the readers' city experience: the magazine as the participant in Münster's public life, not just its observer.

Organization and Ownership

MÜNSTER! Magazin is published by the Stadtlust-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG in Münster (An der Hansalinie 1, 48163 Münster; info@muenster-magazin.com). The personally liable partner: Stadtmagazin Verlag Verwaltungs GmbH (AG Münster HRB 14321); the managing director: Marc Arne Schümann. The editorial team: Jörg Heithoff, Simone Wessels (c/o Heithoff & Companie GmbH, Am Mittelhafen 16). The media bookings: Stadtlust Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Myriam Bockhöfer-Horstmann (+49 251 690 908100, via Aschendorff Medien).

The commercial model is that of a regional city magazine: subscriptions (39.90 euros/year) and newsstand sales (4.90 euros/issue) with the high sold share (78 percent), advertising from the Münster businesses and institutions, the Lesezirkel distribution (1,280 copies), and the reader-tour business ("unterwegs" with the Westfälische Nachrichten/chrono tours).

Digital Presence

The magazine's digital home is muenster-magazin.com, where the monthly print magazine's program extends into the online presence. The Instagram channel — with around 7,000 followers — delivers the daily impulses: the community exchange, the brand visibility, and the city topics between the print issues. The newsletter ("Sehen wir uns nächste Woche?") provides the weekly city briefing.

The "unterwegs" tour portal (muenstermagazin.com/unterwegs) — the reader tours in cooperation with the Westfälische Nachrichten and chrono tours — extends the magazine into the travel booking: the day-trip programs with the subscriber prices. The Aschendorff Medien's digital infrastructure — the Münster media house's networks — forms the ecosystem in which the magazine's content circulates. From the September 2020 fusion to the present, MÜNSTER! Magazin has been the Westphalian metropolis's monthly: "Die starken Seiten der Stadt," eleven times a year, in print, on Instagram, and unterwegs. The magazine's paid-circulation model — the 78 percent sold share, the 30-percent subscriber growth since the fusion — is its commercial and editorial foundation: the city magazine that Münster's readers choose to pay for, month after month, because it tells their city's stories with the quality and the visual power they expect.