The Wall Street Journal reports that Rick Warren is starting his own quarterly magazine, the Purpose Driven Connection—a publication of the Reader’s Digest Association. A subscription includes the magazines, DVD study guides, and access to a Christian social networking web site.

This could be a risky venture, particularly since so many print publications are foundering or folding right now. I have a theory, though, that niche publications—the kind that appeal to a very specific audience — will continue to do well. That seems to the the theory shared by new CEO Mary Berner, who has reorganized the company according to “consumer affinities,” says WSJ:”The idea is to envelop subscribers in a multimedia web of Mr. Warren’s message.”