magazines chapter 4
DESCRIPTION
Media Impact, tenth edition, Shirley BiagiTRANSCRIPT
4. Magazines
Mitch McKenneyKent State University at Stark
Christopher BurnettCalifornia State, Long Beach
Magazines: Reflecting trends
• Sports Illustrated– Targeted to sports audience
• Glamour– Top 10 women’s magazine, with 2 million readers
• Parenting– Top family magazine gets $200,000 per ad page
• Maxim– 2.5 million readers– Brand also on Sirius-XM
• Magazines reflect the culture
Colonial Magazines and Newspapers
• 50 years after the first colonial newspaper • American Magazine
– Philadelphia -1741 - three issues
• General Magazine – Benjamin Franklin - six issues
• Magazine v. Newspaper – Magazine: national politics, culture and ideas– Newspapers: daily events of local communities
Reaching New Readers
• Women’s Issues: Godey's Lady’s Book, 1830– Advice on morals, manners,
literature, fashion, diet
• Social Crusades: Ladies’ Home Journal, 1887– Advocated Pure Food & Drug Act of
1906
• The Arts - Harper’s, Atlantic Monthly 1850s
• Political Commentary - Nation, 1865; New Republic, 1914; Crisis, 1910
• Postal Act of 1879– Cheaper mailing rate for magazines
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Fashion in Godey’s Lady’s Book
The First National Mass Medium
• Magazines - first national medium – Newspapers local– Books expensive
• Magazine specialties – News– Culture– Entertainment
• Saturday Evening Post– First national publication,1821
Investigative Journalism
• Muckrakers– Term coined by Teddy
Roosevelt who compared crusading reporters to the “Man with a Muckrake” in Pilgrim’s Progress
• Opposed relationship between big business and government
• Ida Tarbell and McClure’s – Targeted John D. Rockefeller
and Standard Oil, 1904
Ida Tarbell
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Magazine Audiences
• Two kinds of audience– Definable, targeted, loyal audience
• Harold Ross’ The New Yorker – commentary, fiction and humor for sophisticated, wealthy
audience
– Broad, general readership • Henry Luce’s Time
– News & Comment in 28 pages
– “For people willing to spend a half hour to avoid being uninformed”
• Ebony and Jet, 1940s– 3 million readers
Specialized Magazines
• Decline of general interest magazines
• People want specialized information
• Three Types – Consumer Publications
– Trade, Technical and Professional Publications
– Company Publications
Consumer Magazines
• Subscriptions and newsstand, supermarket and bookstore sales – Time, Glamour, Parenting
• Make more money than other magazines
• Have the most readers• Supported by
– Sales– Advertising
Trade, Technical and Professional Publications
• Professional associations – Ex. American Medical News
• Universities– Ex. Columbia Journalism Review
• Company Magazines – For employees, customers, stockholders – Ex. Chevron USA Odyssey – Usually don’t carry advertising
Working for Magazines
• Editorial– Produces the content of the magazine
• Circulation sales– Manages subscriptions
• Advertising sales– Sales of advertising space
• Manufacturing & distribution– Production and delivery of the magazine
• Administration – Hiring, paying bills, etc.
Working for Magazines
• Ad rates depend on circulation
• Circulation – Measured by the Audit
Bureau of Circulation (ABC)
• Staff Writers
• Freelancers– Paid per article published
– Some specialize in a subject area
– Often write for more than one publication at a time
• Magazine career link
Magazine Business
• Smaller social role• Competition for specific
audiences• Largest magazine audience:
Women– “Point-of-purchase” (Checkout)
• Segmented Audiences– Special interests– Regions, age groups, etc.
• Magazine Launches– 1 in 3 survive 5 years– Limited pool of purchasers– Circulation down; Ad income up
Top 10 U.S. Consumer Magazines
Illustration 4.1
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A Valuable Audience
• Average magazine reader– High school graduate– Married– Owns a home– Works full time
• Attractive audience for advertisers • Pass along readership
– People keep magazines an average of 17 weeks
– Each magazine has an average of four readers – Better ad targeting
Ownership & Internet
• Industry sales– U.S. News for $100 million– Billboard for $40 million
• Refinement of audiences• Digital Editions
– Conferences with editors and newsmakers– Posting feedback on articles
• Internet Only Magazines– Slate– Nomad
• Magazine Survival
Magazines and the Web
Illustration 4.2
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