1. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. THE DYNAMICS OF MASS COMMUNCATION Joseph R. Dominick University of Georgia--Athens

2. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Chapter 5 Magazines Chapter Outline  Magazine History Magazine History  Magazines in the Digital Age Magazines in the Digital Age  Defining Features of Magazines Defining Features of Magazines  Organization of the Magazine Industry Organization of the Magazine Industry  Magazine Ownership Magazine Ownership  Producing the Magazine Producing the Magazine  Economics Economics  Feedback Feedback  The Magazine Industry The Magazine Industry

3. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Magazine History Colonial Period –Meaning of magazine A storehouse of varied literary materials One volume Sources: books, pamphlets, newspapers –Bradford’s American Magazine –Franklin’s General Magazine –Thomas Paine edits Pennsylvania Magazine –Designed for the intellectual elite

4. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Magazine History The Penny Press Era (1820s–1860s) –Magazines begin appealing to mass audiences –Saturday Evening Post –Godey’s Lady’s Book (1830) Women’s rights and recognition of female writers –Harper’s Weekly (1857) Brady’s Civil War photographs Thomas Nast’s political cartoons of William Tweed

5. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Magazine History The Magazine Boom (1860s – 1900s) –700% increase in magazines (260  1800) –Available venture capital –Better printing techniques –The Postal Act of 1879 Lower magazine prices

6. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Magazine History Muckraking –McClure’s exposé of Standard Oil Company –Cosmopolitan: “The Treason of the Senate” (1906) Between World Wars I and II –Three distinct types evolved DigestReaders Digest (1922) News weeklyTime (1923) Pictorial Life (1936)& Look (1937)

7. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Magazine History The Post WW II Period –Specialization paramount Field and Stream  Sports Illustrated –Liberalized attitudes towards sex Playboy (1953) –Rebirth of interest in urban culture New York –Expansion of black magazines Jet  Essence

8. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Magazine History Contemporary Magazines –Industry continues to struggle –Slight recovery in 2004; YM and Lifetime folded –Retailers more selective –Encroachment of cable TV and Internet –Low-priced magazines introduced –Current trend: find a hot topic and launch

9. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Magazines in the Digital Age Magazines still learning how to best use the Internet –Publishers re-examining online publication strategy –Time and AOL offer free online access only to subscribers –May begin charging for content now provided for free –Generate revenue through banner ads –Fees charged for special, online editions

10. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Defining Features of Magazines Attract specialized audiences In tune with and influence trends –Social  Economic –Demographic  Cultural Packaging and format –Convenient  Portable –High-quality print  Outstanding graphics

11. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Organization of the Magazine Industry A magazine is a “periodical publication, usually with a paper cover, containing miscellaneous articles and often with illustrations or photographs.”

12. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Organization of the Magazine Industry 17,000 magazines published in the U.S. TV GuideBird Watcher’s Digest Two organizational schemes –By content category –By function category Barrell’s Media Directory

13. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Organization of the Magazine Industry Content Categories –General consumer magazines (Time) –Trade publications (Oil and Gas Journal) –Custom magazines (Sony Style) –Literary reviews and academic journals (The Journal of Japanese Botany) –Newsletters (Aerospace Daily) –Public relations magazines (Target)

14. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Organization of the Magazine Industry Function Categories –Production (2-3000 publishers) –Distribution –Circulation = subscription + single-copy sales –Paid circulation Readers pay Advertisers pay Lower postal rates –Retail (140,000 in USA)  Controlled circulation  Readers do not pay  Advertisers pay  Higher postal rates

15. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Magazine Ownership Table 5-2 Top Consumer Magazine Companies

16. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Producing the Magazine Departments and Staff –Publisher is CEO –Circulation – keep and recruit readers –Advertising and Sales – sell magazine space –Production – print and bind the magazine –Editorial – determine content and format

17. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Producing the Magazine Publishing Cycle –Preliminary planning and generating ideas –Develop subjects for articles –Decisions: article length, photos, artwork –Assign articles to writers –Put together a dummy –Draw up schedules; set copy deadline –Edit, check, verify all copy –Typesetter sets copy –Send to the press or Website

18. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Economics

19. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Economics Table 5-3 Breakdown of a Magazine’s Dollar

20. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Feedback Audit Bureau of Circulation - consumer press –Average paid circulation –Rate base (minimum guaranteed circulation) –Number of visits to web site Business Publication Audit - business press Mediamark Research, Inc. –Detailed reports –Total audience – primary and pass-along

21. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. Feedback Typical Adult Magazine Readers –85% read at least one magazine a month –Many browse through ten magazines a month –Spend about 25 minutes daily reading magazines –More affluent and educated –Likely to be part of religious, scientific, or professional organizations

22. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. The Magazine Industry Entry Level –Editorial Editorial assistant  Researcher Reader –Circulation Subscription-fulfillment  Salesperson Managerial assistant –Advertising Assistant to copywriter Assistant to sales promotional manager

23. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. The Magazine Industry Upward Mobility –Editorial Editorial assistant  Assistant editor  Associate editor  Managing editor / Editor-in-chief –Circulation Entry  Subscription director or Single-copy sales manager  Circulation director  Associate Publisher or Publisher

24. McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. The Magazine Industry Upward Mobility –Advertising Assistant  Copywriter or Sales promotional manager  Advertising director  Publisher Assistant  Sales staff  Advertising director  Publisher