Better Homes and Gardens editor Dora Papas on continuing a legacy and the future of a lifestyle juggernaut
After being appointed editor of Better Homes and Gardens at the end of 2019, it’s been a wild ride for Dora Papas, with two mergers, the exit of longtime editor in chief Julia Zaetta and a global pandemic. She speaks with Mumbrella’s Hannah Blackiston about continuing the BHG legacy and a new life under Are Media.
2020 has been a hard year for the media, but perhaps most for those in magazines. The complications started for Pacific Magazines 2019 when it was announced Seven would be selling the magazine arm to rival publisher Bauer Media. From there, the sale took several terms, before concluding, finally, a few months into the COVID pandemic.
But it wasn’t the end of the changes. Bauer Media then sold its ANZ arm to private equity business Mercury Capital and a recent rebrand saw it become Are Media.
That process, unfortunately, saw a number of closures and redundancies, but before it all began Dora Papas became editor of Better Homes and Gardens, one of the highest selling magazines in the country and a title which has its own lifestyle brand, including a TV show, and a 50 year history. Luckily, Papas was no stranger to BHG – she became editor after almost 20 years with the title.
