Magazines: The age of Specialization *History *Industry *Controversies

A Brief History of Magazines The First Magazines Appeared in 17th century France, Magazine derives from “magasin” - French term for storehouse The first two magazines in America, Six months later both magazines had failed By 1776, a hundred magazines had started and failed.

Magazines The first magazine to achieve a mass audience was The Saturday Evening Post.

Magazines 1800’s led to idea of specialized magazines Ladies Magazine - special interest magazine Began publishing in 1828, under Sarah Josepha Hale Expanded/Focused on Women’s Interests, issues & rights

Magazines 1900’s - Magazines crusaded for McClure’s Magazine social reform through investigative & watchdog journalism Magazines were effective in providing in-depth investigations. McClure’s Magazine Attacked the monopolistic practices of Standard Oil Exposed municipal corruption in several cities.

Magazines Muckraking – Investigative Journalism – Articles led to child labor laws Workers compensation First congressional investigations. Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 Passed because of the influence of muckraking reporting.

Magazine Products Consumer Magazines Primary genre of magazines available today News Magazines Women’s Magazines Men’s Magazines Hobby Magazines

Magazines Mass Circulation Magazines General Interest Saturday Evening post Reader’s Digest, Life

First News Magazines The first news magazine was Time, Originated the terms “photojournalism,” and “photo essay.” Golden age of photojournalism began in 1930s Lasted until general-interest magazines declined in the 1960’s (What led to this decline?)

Magazines Adapting to New Media Magazines adapted to competition from new media. Use it to extend reach Magazines publish content on the Internet Cheaper - no paper, ink, or presses, No over runs, under runs or postal rates. Interactivity with readers is appealing to advertisers.

Magazines Adapting to New Media Companion sites expands reach tremendously Wired magazine Print 853,000 Online 19,000,000

The age of domination Specialized magazines Target audiences help magazines maintain readers Men’s & Women’s Magazines Sports, Entertainment and Leisure Age based magazines Elite Magazines Minority-Targeted Magazines Supermarket Tabloids (Magazine type) Let’s try and identify 1 or 2 from each category

Online Magazine Publishing Zines Small, inexpensive publications - specific, usually obscure, topic. Today Zines exist only on the Web. Webzines are magazines that appear exclusively online Salon Slate

Understanding Today’s Magazine Publishing Industry The Reader About 90% of US adults read 12 issues a month on average, More education/income means more magazines people read. Pass-along circulation, More people than the original buyer/subscriber read them

Media Literacy Magazines help define standards of beauty/looks What are some of these standards are? As magazines continue to promote these standards Women & Men can become unhappy with their bodies Ideas about looks, appearance, beauty, etc. Are shaped by images portrayed in magazines

Media Literacy Airbrushing The powers of digital technology have ignited a debate about the portrayal of women