Magazines: The 1st of the Specialized Media

*History *Industry *Controversies

The First Magazines Appeared in Germany in 1663, The first two magazines in America, ▪ Six months later both magazines had failed

By 1776, a hundred magazines had started and failed.

Ladies’ Magazine - special interest magazine▪

▪ Began publishing in 1828, under Sarah Josepha Hale▪ Expanded/Focused on Women’s Interests, issues & rights

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

1900’s - Magazines crusaded for ▪ 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.

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.

Consumer Magazines Primary genre of magazines available today▪ News Magazines

▪ Women’s Magazines

▪ Men’s Magazines

▪ Hobby Magazines

Mass Circulation Magazines Cultural magazines ▪ The New Yorker,

▪ Pulps such as True Confessions.

Reader’s Digest, ▪ Featured brief versions of articles

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?)

Adapting to New Media Magazines adapted to competition from new media. Playboy

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.

Comic books ▪ Little advertising, smaller revenue▪ Have been an important part of American culture.▪ Any comic book readers in here? Which ones?

Zines ▪ Small, inexpensive publications - specific, usually obscure, topic.

Most Zines exist only on the Web. ▪ blogs are an online version of what Zines use to be.

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

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

Airbrushing

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