ESPN The Magazine celebrates its 15th anniversary this week, even if Robert Griffin III looks a bit underwhelmed.

That’s no small feat in a publishing climate that has seen the print versions of iconic magazines disappear. So long Newsweek and The Sporting News.

ESPN The Magazine still is big, bold, and can be out there at times. However, under Chad Millman, who took over at editor in 2011, it has sharpened its focus with each edition having a theme. Also, some of the loud bells and whistles that marked the early design have been toned down a bit.

Here’s my Q/A with Millman on the current state of the magazine and whether it will be around for a 30th anniversary in 2028.

How has the magazine (first cover) evolved since 1998?

We’re still very much about great storytelling. It’s in our DNA. We get phenomenal access and our photography can’t be matched because of the size of the magazine.

The conversation, though, has changed. What the magazine was good at in the beginning are what blogs are good at now. The front of the magazine used to be more in tune with pop culture. It’s less now because blogs do a better job of that. So we have made some changes to remain current and relevant.

Such as?

We decided to have a theme for every issue. We asked ourselves, ‘Why can’t we make every issue as good the “Body Issue?’ Once you get a rhythm, you find ideas that become a franchise, such as One Day/One Game. Teams really have bought into it. We had a picture of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade reading texts in a cold tub. You don’t normally get to those places in sports.

The strategy helps frame what we’re doing. It helps define the storytelling. It also galvanizes the stuff and gets everyone behind a big idea.

What is going on from a design standpoint? Initially, there was much criticism that the graphics and look were too over-the-top. It seems as if the volume, so to speak, has been turned down in recent years?

Yes, it has. In Oct., 2011, we hired John Korpics. He’s a legendary creative director. The magazine always is going to be known for its design. We still wanted a modern look, but we wanted to make it easier to navigate. Instead of saying we’re toned down, I would say we’re cleaner looking. There’s definitely a better marriage.

How do you view the Magazine in regards to Sports Illustrated?

I don’t think anyone around here thinks about what Sports Illustrated is going to do. I like to see what Sports Illustrated has done. I worked at Sports Illustrated for five years. I know (new managing editor Chris Stone). I like him a lot. He’s really smart. I think it is a healthy change with him taking over.

But I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about how Sports Illustrated is going to cover something. I know there is a comparison. We have two different approaches. They often cover what just happened. We cover what’s going to happen.

You say you don’t think about SI from a competitive standpoint, and yet they broke a huge story this week with Jason Collins. How did you feel about that?

With SI and Collins, of course I wanted ESPN The Magazine, and ESPN in general, to be where an athlete chose to share that personal story. We had done similar pieces with Esera Tuaolo and John Amaechi and Sheryl Swoopes. But it isn’t a “gotcha” type piece and you can’t predict who is going to be comfortable with whom and when. SI did a nice job working with Jason and packaging his story.

Do people still read magazines these days?

We had a focus group two months ago. Guys everywhere from 18-35. We found that the group on the older end was skeptical about the future of the print press. However, the younger end said they still would rather read the actual magazine than on a tablet.

I know there’s a big difference when we ask an athlete to be on the cover of ESPN The Magazine than calling someone to be part of a digital product.

At the end of the day, who the hell knows? I don’t think the magazine has a readership problem right now.

The Magazine just celebrated its 15th anniversary. Given the way the publishing industry is going, what are the odds of a 30th anniversary?

That’s a great question. The interesting thing about working in Bristol is that you see how quickly things change. Three years ago, nobody was talking about apps and Twitter. Now they are huge parts of how ESPN engages fans.

It’s sort of feels like an exercise in folly to figure out if there will be a 30th anniversary. I’m just trying to make sure we’re relevant now. We want to be relevant five years from now. We want to adapt to different mediums and different ways we tell our stories.

Note: Here’s a link to my column on the Magazine at the National Sports Journalism Center site.