Drew Barrymore is loved by youthful energy. She’s also turned 50 – and landed on the cover of Aarp: The Magazine.
“Everyone keeps telling me that this magical 50 year old is when you really start to let things go, and I hope it’s true,” Barrymore said on the set of her talk show, “Drew Barrymore Show.”
Aging is a tricky business, but it is AARP’s business. Non-profit magazine readers are incredible. It is about 40 million people. The average question audience is the biggest for printed publications in America.
“In the magazine, what we’re trying to say is, ‘We get you,'” said Myrna Blyth, 86-year-old editorial director at AARP. “We’re going to talk about what’s important to you because you’re important.”
Advertisers and celebrities recognize the power of older Americans.
“How did you put Bob Dylan on the cover?” I asked Bryce.
“He called us and asked,” she said. “He called the editor.”
In 1958, educator Ethel Percy Andras founded AARP after becoming unsure about the struggles facing older adults. She once said, “We’re all ageing at the same rate, and it feels good to know that you know, you can’t manage that time.”
Myechia Minter-Jordan is now CEO. She said she was “undetected” still wary of the situation among older Americans.
“We represent 110 million Americans in over 50 demographics,” Minter Jordan said. “People live long and they stay in the workforce for a long time, so the needs are changing. But the needs are still urgent.”
In 1999, AARP stopped being the “American Association of Retirements” and became just an acronym. It is nonpartisan, but it is not immunity from controversy. For many years, lobbying has been criticized from both sides.
“Our members are most concerned about Medicare, Social Security and family care,” Minter Jordan said. “They’re very worried. This is something people make their lives and they’re paying for Social Security. And they’re very worried about access to it.”
Regarding family care, Minter Jordan said the magazine heard “more and more” from people in the “sandwich generation.”
As for the future, it is welcoming a new generation. And Drew Barrymore is excited about everything that’s coming.
“I’ve never thought about the concept of retirement,” Barrymore said. “I started working at 11 months old and haven’t worked yet, so I don’t know what life would look like without it. So it seems like an exciting outlook, but it’s so good now that I don’t want to blame everything that’s going on in my life right now.”
Barrymore doesn’t expect to retire anytime soon, but added, “What’s exciting about dancing in the ballroom one night is this new stranger who kicks me out of his leg and his name is retiring.”
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