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, one-page newspapers n Soapboxes for literate men to share their points of view n No advertising n Written for the upper classes n No headlines or jumped stories – readers would read from the front to the back n

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

The Gentleman’s Magazine

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

The American vs. General Magazine

The Saturday Evening Post n n n 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 n Also The Christian Ladies Magazine (1834) and Godey’s Ladies Book (1830), Good Housekeeping (1885) n Topics included fashion (including what royalty wore), poetry, advice, homemaking tips n

Godey’s Ladies Book

Growth of Magazines n n n 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 n Compulsory education created more readers n In 1879 Congress created second-class mail, making distribution less expensive n Advances in printing press technology led to faster printing in 1880 n

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

The Rise of Advertising 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 n

New Needs for Advertising 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 n

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 n This increased circulation n Increased circulation made magazines even more useful to advertisers n Full-page ads and graphic design changed the look of magazines n

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

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

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

Magazines that Made History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

People n n 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. n Esquire featured pinups and impressive literary features. n

Men’s magazines n n 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 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 n

Time Warner n n n 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.

Advance Publications Conde Nast n Vanity Fair n Brides n Conde Nast Traveler n GQ n Wired Fairchild n FN (Footwear News) n. Women’s Wear Daily n. M

Hearst n n n Cosmopolitan Seventeen Esquire Marie Claire Redbook ELLE n House Beautiful n O, The Oprah Magazine n Popular Mechanics n Redbook n