A Brief History of Magazines JOUR 500 THE

A Brief History of Magazines JOUR 500 THE CONTEMPORARY MAGAZINE

The First Magazines � Looked like little books – and later like 8 X 12 -inch, onepage newspapers � Soapboxes for literate men to share their points of view � No advertising � Written for the upper classes � No headlines or jumped stories – readers would read from the front to the back

First Magazine in Britain 1731 : The Gentleman's Magazine � Included essays, stories, poems and political commentary � Over time the magazine had various subtitles, including "monthly intelligencer" and "historical review” � Continued through the 18 th and 19 th century � Ceased publication in 1907

The Gentleman’s Magazine

First Magazine War in the U. S. � 1741 � Andrew Bradford, a Pennsylvania printer, publishes American Magazine, or A Monthly View of the Political State of the British Colonies on Feb. 13 � Benjamin Franklin’s General Magazine comes out three days later � Six months later both magazines are out of business

The American vs. General Magazine

The Saturday Evening Post � First really successful magazine in the U. S. � First published in 1821 � It lasted as a weekly publication until 1969, after which it appeared somewhat sporadically

Women’s Magazines � Introduction of the first “women’s magazine” with Lady's Magazine “Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex, ” in 1791 � Also The Christian Ladies Magazine (1834) and Godey’s Ladies Book (1830), Good Housekeeping (1885) � Topics included fashion (including what royalty wore), poetry, advice, homemaking tips

Godey’s Ladies Book

Growth of Magazines � In 1825, there were fewer than 100 magazines in the country � In 1850 there were 600 � By 1900 there were more than 5, 000

1880 s: Birth of the Mass Media � Until 1880 s only upper classes read magazines; the poor – if they read– read newspapers and weekly tabloids � Compulsory education created more readers � In 1879 Congress created second-class mail, making distribution less expensive � Advances in printing press technology led to faster printing in 1880

Another magazine war � In 1883 S. S. Mc. Clure dropped the price of Mc. Clure’s to 15 cents � His rival, Frank Munsey, lowered the price of Munsey’s Magazine from 25 cents to 10 cents � Circulation skyrocketed � The mass media were born

The Rise of Advertising n Early magazines contained few ads, most of them classified-type advertisements n 1880 -1930 manufacturers began to see magazines as a way to reach the masses; magazines began to depend on advertising to survive

New Needs for Advertising n Railroads (large-scale distribution networks) n Mass-produced goods n Development of plate-glass windows led to storefronts and large department stores n These large stores needed to reach a mass audience

New Mission for Magazines The mission of magazines changed – from selling information and providing entertainment to giving advertisers access to consumers

Impacts on Publishing � Ads made it possible to sell magazines at low cost � This increased circulation � Increased circulation made magazines even more useful to advertisers � Full-page ads and graphic design changed the look of magazines

Impacts on Editorial � More concerned about pleasing advertisers � Had to compete with ads for readers’ attention � Editorial departments began to use typography, graphics and other design elements � Headlines began to mimic ad slogans � Stories jumped to back of the magazine � Concerns about potentially “offensive” material – political, sexual

Sexuality in magazines � As advertising began to rule magazines, sexual content was frowned upon – editors didn’t want to offend advertisers � After 1975 – and the sexual revolution -- advertisers began to champion sexual suggestion � Ads used sexual imagery as a powerful selling tool � Editorial departments responded by making their own content more sexual

Sexuality in magazines

Magazine leaders From the beginning, most magazines had a strong leader – a publisher or editor who set the tone

Henry Luce 1898 -1967 � Cofounded Time with Briton Hadden in 1923 at the age of 24 (Hadden died in 1929) � 1930 founded Fortune � 1936 founded Life � 1954 founded Sports Illustrated � In the 1960 s his publications were read by 13 million readers around the world

Harold Ross 1892 -1951 High school dropout Editor in chief of Stars and Stripes, newspaper for servicemen abroad, during WWI n After the war he fell in with the Algonquin Round Table, an exclusive writers group that lunched at the Algonquin Hotel n Founded The New Yorker in 1925 and led it for 25 years until shortly before his death n His successor, William Shawn, remained editor for 35 years n n

Magazines that Made History

TIME � First news weekly � First issue: March 3, 1923, 36 pages � Initial print run of 9, 000 � Initial investment of $86, 000 provided by friends

TIME Innovations: � National/international in scale � Put the news in context � Divided news into 22 sections: Foreign News National Affairs, Religion, Science, Crime, Books, Art, Cinema, etc.

TIME Innovations: � Report and interpret news in a concise and entertaining way � Designed to be read in one hour � Focus on people, particularly newsmakers � Instituted rigorous factchecking system

LIFE � First issue: Nov. 19, 1936, 96 pages � 10 -cent newsstand price � 466, 000 print run immediately sold out � Luce’s top-secret project

LIFE � Fueled by technological advances in photography and photo reproduction—smaller cameras, quick-drying ink � Condensed style � Documentary approach � Launches photojournalism

LIFE n Became the most popular magazine in the U. S. -- weekly circ of 8. 5 million n Fueled the growth of photojournalism n Set the standard for photo essays

LIFE � The most talked about closing in the publishing world � Ceased weekly publication Dec. 29, 1972 � Intermittent “specials” 1972 -1978 � Monthly 1978 -2000 � Weekly supplement 2004 -March 2007

National Geographic First issue: October 1888 sent to 200 charter members n 1890 -91 -- First National Geographic Society-sponsored expedition to Alaska n Brought science, discovery, exploration to the masses n

National Geographic Innovations: n Undersea photos n Aerial shots of the world n Color photographs n Maps n Newsstand sales begin in 2000

People First issue: March 4, 1974 n The goal: to do serious journalism about famous people n First issue sold 978, 0000 copies, somewhat fewer than expected n Conceived for newsstand sales n

People � Black sheep of Time. Life empire -- ridiculed � Visual storytelling � Celebrities in tragedy, in trouble, in love � Sexiest man alive

People Spinoffs

Men’s magazines � The first major "glossy" men's magazine was Esquire, founded in 1933. � Esquire featured pinups and impressive literary features.

Men’s magazines In 1953, Hugh Hefner founded Playboy. � The first edition contained nude photos of Marilyn Monroe -- before she became a superstar. � Hefner didn't put a date on the magazine because he didn't know if there would ever be a second edition. � It sold out as soon as it hit the newsstands. �

Current Trends n Number of magazines growing n Increasingly targeted n More focus on celebrities n Most high-profile magazines - everything from Time to Esquire to Vanity Fair - are owned by one of three big media companies: Time, Advance, Hearst

Time Warner � � � Time People Fortune Sunset Cooking Light Health n Money n Family Circle n Essence n Real Simple n

Time Warner Core Stats n 21. 5% Share of overall domestic magazine advertising spending, excludes newspaper supplements. (Through June 30, 2012) n 21 Number of print titles n 138 million U. S. consumers reached in print, online and via mobile devices each month.