The American Political Science Review,
frequently cited in my discipline of Government and Politics, is the scholarly
journal of the American Political Science Association. First published in 1906, this political
research journal is currently published four times a year and consists of
peer-reviewed research articles that cover a variety of topics, such as political
theory, American politics, and public policy. Pitched to advertisers
as having a circulation of 16,000, the APSR is the most frequently
cited political science journal. Readers interested in actually reading the Review can do so in a couple of ways. They can either become a member of the American Political Science Association and receive the Review (as well as two other scholarly journals) for free because of membership costs based on an income-based sliding scale or just buy the magazine for 25 dollars per issue.
As far as print vs. web publication goes, online articles are available in entirety for members. Those who order the publication and aren't members only receive a print version of the magazine. In this way, they make the magazine extremely exclusive.
The APSA website gives a link to preview some of the abstracts and research articles found in the latest issue. An example of a topic covered for the August edition is how party elites don't necessarily affect citizen's policy views as much as previously. The journal is hundreds of pages long and each article is lengthy in itself.
I believe because the information provided is so specific to political scientists, researchers, and policy makers, it has a stable niche audience that isn't easily shaken from reading. Given the type of information and the cost to obtain it, the circulation they currently have is stable and will be sustainable because 1) there will always be research that can be done on politics and government, from top officials down to citizens, from race to gender issues, and 2) data is constantly changing.
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