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HOWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, TVRD129 – INTRODUCTION TO MASS MEDIA
Magazines: The Age of Specialization
Cosmopolitan, launched in 1886, has been an illustrated monthly, a literary magazine, a muckraking
magazine, a literary monthly targeted to women, and a top women’s fashion magazine.
I. The Early History of Magazines
The first magazines probably developed in seventeenth-century France as catalogue
extensions of the book-publishing industry.
A. The First Magazines. Early magazines were channels for political commentary and
argument.
B. Magazines in Colonial America. The first colonial magazines appeared in Philadelphia in
1741, about fifty years after the first newspapers.
C. U.S. Magazines in the Nineteenth Century. The idea of specialized magazines devoted to
certain categories of readers developed throughout the nineteenth century.
D. National, Women’s, and Illustrated Magazines. With increases in literacy and public
education and faster printing technology, a market was created for magazines such as the
Saturday Evening Post, launched in 1821.
II. The Development of Modern American Magazines
By 1870, about twelve hundred magazines were produced in the United States.
A. Social Reform and the Muckrakers. Some newspaper reporters became dissatisfied with
conventional journalism and turned to magazines, where they could write about broader
issues in greater depth. President Theodore Roosevelt dubbed these reporters muckrakers
in 1906 because they were willing to crawl around in society’s muck to uncover a story.
B. The Rise of General-Interest Magazines. After World War I, the prominent publications
were general-interest magazines, which covered a wide variety of topics aimed at a broad
national audience.
1. Saturday Evening Post. The first widely popular general-interest magazine was the
Saturday Evening Post.
2. Reader’s Digest. By the 1980s, Reader’s Digest became the world’s most popular
magazine.
3. Time. National newsmagazines such as Time were also major commercial successes
but began to have serious problems by 2008.
4. Life. More than any other magazine of its day, Life advanced photojournalism and
effectively competed with radio.
C. The Fall of General-Interest Magazines. General-interest magazine circulation fell
because of key economic shifts and a new electronically oriented culture.
1. TV Guide Is Born. Appearing in 1953, TV Guide addressed the nation’s growing
fascination with television.
2. Saturday Evening Post, Life, and Look Expire. Distribution and production costs were
rising, while national magazine ad sales had flattened out.
ANTHONY J. HOOS, Adjunct Faculty | [email protected]
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HOWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, TVRD129 – INTRODUCTION TO MASS MEDIA
3. People Puts Life Back into Magazines. People was the first successful mass-market
magazine to appear in decades.
D. Convergence: Magazines Confront the Digital Age. Although once viewed as the death
knell of print magazines, the industry now embraces the Internet.
1. Magazines Move Online. As paper, printing, and postage costs rise, creating a
magazine companion Web site is a popular and successful method for expanding the
reach of consumer publications.
2. Paperless: Magazines Embrace Digital Content. Online-only magazines such as Salon
and Slate pioneered the Webzine format, making the Internet a legitimate source for
news as well as discussion of culture and politics.
III. The Domination of Specialization
Magazines adapted to the rise of television by becoming more specialized.
A. Men’s and Women’s Magazines. Magazines found niches in the age of television.
Playboy focused on adult subject matter; Better Homes and Gardens targeted women as
homemakers and consumers.
B. Sports, Entertainment, and Leisure Magazines. The most popular sports and leisure
magazine is Sports Illustrated.
C. Magazines for the Ages. In the age of specialization, magazines have delineated readers
along age lines.
D. Elite Magazines. These magazines appeal to educated readers with their combination of
literature, criticism, humor, and journalism.
E. Minority-Targeted Magazines. Like newspapers, minority-targeted magazines have existed
since the Civil War. With increases in Hispanic populations, magazines appealing to Spanishspeaking readers have developed rapidly.
F. Supermarket Tabloids. Based on bizarre human-interest stories, unexplained phenomena,
and celebrity gossip, tabloids continue to be popular.
IV. The Organization and Economics of Magazines
A successful magazine can be produced by one person with computer-driven, desktop
publishing technology, or by many people in elaborate production hierarchies. Many
magazines are also going online, avoiding some costly production processes altogether.
A. Magazine Departments and Duties. For large publications, work is divided into
departments.
1. Editorial and Production. The editorial side produces magazine content,
excluding advertisements.
2. Advertising and Sales. The advertising and sales department of a magazine
secures clients, arranges promotions, and places ads.
3. Circulation and Distribution. A magazine’s circulation and distribution
department monitors single-copy and subscription sales.
ANTHONY J. HOOS, Adjunct Faculty | [email protected]
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HOWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, TVRD129 – INTRODUCTION TO MASS MEDIA
B. Major Magazine Chains. Large companies or chains increasingly dominate the
magazine business.
C. Alternative Voices. Numbering more than two thousand, alternative publications
include diverse political, cultural, and environmental interests.
V. Magazines in a Democratic Society
Magazines can offer more analysis of and insight into society than can other media outlets.
Unfortunately, they often identify their readers as consumers first and as citizens second.
ANTHONY J. HOOS, Adjunct Faculty | [email protected]
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