Press release: EMMA is ceasing publication

21. Oktober 2026. After 50 years and 398 issues, 36.584 pages, EMMA is bowing out. Worldwide, EMMA is the last and only professional magazine for the general public on newsstands in feminist hands.

The upcoming issue, which will be available on newsstands from October 27, is the penultimate one. The issue dated December 8 will be the final one. In this 50th-anniversary issue, which is twice the usual length, we take stock.

When the first issue of EMMA appeared on January 26,1977, it was met with widespread derision, and our dear colleagues predicted that there would be, at most, a second issue, after which EMMA would be finished. There were 398 issues.

Over the course of this half-century, EMMA has played a part in changing Germany. It has transformed the awareness of both women and men, amongst readers and non-readers alike. It has informed, educated, analysed and has stirred controversy. It has sparked debates, influenced legislation and encouraged people. From then on, since 1977, rebellious girls were called Emma (or Alice) in the school playground.

To mention just two of the many topics that EMMA has shaped and on which the magazine reported virtually alone for years or even decades: child sexual abuse from 1978 on; and Islamism from 1979 on (following Khomeini’s seizure of power) and from 1985 onward right here in the heart of Germany itself and international. The media often only became aware of these and numerous other issues – such as joint taxation for married couples, breast cancer or female genital mutilation – after they had been covered by EMMA.

Yet, regardless of the topics, EMMA’s very existence is a phenomenon in media politics. EMMA was founded by a journalist, Alice Schwarzer, and remained in her hands right to the end. It was not profit-driven, but by politics. This allowed the magazine to remain independent of corporations, advertising and political parties. This economic independence gave us, the women who made the magazine, maximum journalistic freedom. We made full use of it throughout 50 eventful years. 398 issues in full text, page by page, on the internet: emma.de/lesesaal.

But EMMA wouldn’t be EMMA if it were not to continue its work. The EMMA archive will live on for eternity: It will become part of the permanent inventory of the German Literature Archive in Marbach, where it will be catalogued and, from 2029 on, made available without restriction to anyone interested, as well as to media and researchers. Dozens of meters of shelving filled with ring binders, boxes and cartons, surveys and campaigns, for example the legendary Campaign “PorNO” (1988). Half a century’s ‘making-of’-story of this adventure in creating a feminist magazine – and the history of women reflected within it – will be available for future research.

We are not leaving for economic reasons. Admittedly, our circulation is also declining like all print media. But our income still covers our expenses. And we have a financial cushion to protect us. No, we are closing down because: Enough is enough! For three generations of feminists, EMMA has held its ground. It has resisted all passing fads and taken a stand against more than a little nonsense carried out in the name of feminism. Now it is enough.

We have shown what committed, professional, feminist journalism is capable of. What is possible. We are certain: things will carry on in one way or another. You can read more about this in our next issue (on kiosk sale from October 27) as well in the 50th-anniversary issue (which will be published December 8th).

ALICE SCHWARZER, Cologne, 21 October 2026