Pros
The original concept of Reader's Digest -- to collect in one publication all the most important articles from other magazines -- was brilliant when RD was formed in 1922 and is even more so today. It's just unfortunate that RD's potential has been squandered for decades thanks to pages filled with "evergreen" filler and next to nothing of true relevance.
Cons
Management, in its ivory tower, seems clueless as to how to truly make the magazine successful by really understanding the wants and needs of readers and supplying them. They play it so "safe" that opportunities to really connect with subscribers are lost. I know. I worked there for 20 years and change was iceberg slow.