Dr. Oz: A Surefire Way to Sell Magazines

Never underestimate the awesome powers of the wonderful Dr. Oz.

our editor recommends

Daytime TV: 'Dr. Oz,' 'Dr. Phil' Winning in a Post-'Oprah' Market

Dr. Oz Slammed by the FDA Over Apple Juice Arsenic Investigation (Video)

A new report in The New York Times examines Oz's magical effect on the publishing world, showing how magazines that put the charismatic TV doctor on their covers saw jumps of up to 45 percent in their circulation.

That's what happened to Prevention magazine, for example, when Mehmet Oz -- a 52-year-old cardiothoracic surgeon who rocketed to popularity with appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and later found ratings success on his own Emmy-winning talk show -- graced their October 2011 cover. A November issue of Shape magazine, meanwhile, saw a boost of 10 percent.

The doctor also has the rare distinction of being the only man to grace the covers of four women's magazines, with O and Women's Day rounding out the quartet.

And an issue of Time Magazine featuring not one but two Dr. Ozes -- playing both physician and patient -- sold 10,000 more copies than average. (Oz also pens a semi-regular column for Time.)

The doctor's sales-spiking popularity is an increasing rarity in the publishing world. As Maggie Murphy, editorial director of Parade, tells the Times, even movie stars can no longer offer a guarantee of strong magazine sales.