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MagazinesTHE POWER OF WORDS, IMAGES AND PRECEDENT
A note on contentInformation from “Mass Communication: Living in a Media World” by Ralph E. Hanson
#breaktheinternet
#breaktheinternet
Case study: Paper Magazine• November 2014 issue of Paper Magazine
• Image shot by Jean Paul-‐Gorde
• “OMG Becky, look at her butt”
• Image shown is the less risqué one, another showed her butt, while another showed a nipple
• Intention was to, literally, to break the Internet by having hundreds, if not thousands of people share it
Case study: Paper Magazine• You likely never heard of it prior to the whole Kim
Khardasianbutt thing
• Founded in 1984
• Independent pop culture mag, focusing on night life, fashion and art
• New York City based
• Only six issues per year
• Only a Wikipedia stub article before Khardasiancover
Case study: Vanity Fair
Case study: Vanity Fair• It’s likely by now you’ve seen the Caitlyn Jenner
Vanity Fair cover that debuted June 1, 2015
• Jenner revealed herself to the public as a woman for the first time
• News media outlets reacted almost immediately
• Social media reacted immediately
Case study: Vanity Fair
Case study: Vanity Fair
Case study: Vanity Fair
Case study: Vanity Fair• Caitlyn became the hottest trending topic on
• Bombarded social media
• On every news channel into the evening
• Likely hit your Facebook feed
BOTTOM LINE: There was no way around getting out of seeing her photo everywhere in June 2015 and for many days after.
Power in a cover• Annie Leibovitz, who shot the Jenner cover, is one
of the foremost magazine cover artists in the country
• Her work has been prominent since 1970
• She focuses on recognizable subjects
• Builds the image around something noteworthy
• And provides something with room for nameplate and cover lives
By Robert Scoble CC BY 2.0
Power in a cover • Cover photos sell magazines
• Words do too: Why do you think Cosmo always offers “72 ways to please your lover” or “30 tips to a better job”
• Action words sell covers, the “cover lines” all around Britney
• Good headline writing also
Magazine cover rulesAccording to Dick Strolley, one of the founding editors of People Magazine, these are the “established” rules for magazine cover models:
• Young is better than old
• Pretty is better than ugly
• Rich is better than poor
• Music is better than movies
• Movies are better than television
• Nothing is better than a dead celebrity
Magazine covers
Magazine covers
Magazine covers
Magazine covers
What is a magazine?“A publication of lasting interest targeted at a specific audience. A collection of articles,” according to Hanson.
Not always so glam1704: Daniel Defoe founds The Review• Commonly considered first magazine• Newspapers typically focused on news, this magazine focused on public policy, literature and morals
• Dafoe later famous for writing Robinson Caruso1740: Competition between Ben Franklin and Andrew Bradford to launch first American magazine, Bradford wins by three days (American Magazine)Ed Cave’s Gentleman’s Magazine• First to use the word “magazine” in title
The Saturday Evening Post• First published in 1821
• Four-‐pages
• Year’s subscription was $2, half was payable in advance
• Contained essays, poetry, obituaries, and a column called “The Ladies’ Friend”
• First truly national medium
• Post remained important until coming of television
Public Domain
Birth of photojournalismMagazines, though, sparked something unexpected: Photojournalism
It was once standard for newspapers and publications to only have words.
But as media evolved, so did technology for photographs.
The 1880s saw the invention of the halftone, an image produced by a process in which photographs are broken down into a series of dots that appear as various shades.
Public Domain
Birth of photojournalismMatthew Brady was one of the earliest photojournalists.
He became famous for his portraits of noted Americans.
Work focused on showing, not telling stories. Photos were used as a way to convey a story or to better enhance what was being explained.
It should be noted that it’s been said Brady didn’t shoot a bunch of the photos under his name.
Public Domain
Shift toward images, color• Newspapers and books focused on words, lots and lots of words
• Magazines became the medium to purvey content beyond just stories
Game changers• Circulation in magazines grew in post Civil
War years
• New middle class economy fueled uptick
• Postal Act of 1879 allowed magazines to be mailed nationally at low cost, it was a key factor in growth of magazine circulation in late 19th century
• Magazines could now be sent inexpensivelyPublic Domain
Types of magazinesCONSUMER MAGAZINES: Publications targeting like-‐minded consumer audience
• Popular Science
• Good Housekeeping
TRADE MAGAZINES: Magazines published an industry or business
• Refrigerated & Frozen Foods
• California Educator
LITERARY MAGAZINES: Publications focusing on essays and short fiction
• Artifact Nouveau at Delta College
Types of magazinesCOMMENTARY MAGAZINES: Magazines offering a stance or a push in one direction.
• Founded by Harvard-‐educated W.E.B. DuBois in 1910
• Most known is NAACP “Crisis”
• Few outlets for black writers at time
• Crisis became the “leading voice” of south
• Featured stories about role of black education, poems by Langston Hughes’ and debates
Public Domain
Muckracking• Term coined by Theodore Roosevelt to describe socially activist investigative
journalists publishing progressive-‐minded pieces
• It was considered “digging up dirt without stopping to see the good in the world,” according to Hanson
Case study: MCClure’s• Samuel S. McClure was an infamous muckracker
• His magazine McClure’s contained sensationalized writing, which made people want to pick it and and buy a copy, which meant his advertising revenue was good
• Topics McClure took on included the insurance industry, railroads and urban problems
• Lincoln Steffens and Ida Tarbell were writers for McClure’s
• By 1908 muckrackinghad “played itself out”
Public Domain
Newsmagazines & Henry Luce• Henry Luce and Briton Hadden founded Time in 1923
• A “reaction against journalism” of the time
• Time presented multiple sides of a story, aimed to be unbias in reporting
• Luce later created Fortune
• He’s responsible for the career of photojournalist Margaret Bourke-‐White
Public Domain
Newsmagazines & Henry Luce• Luce also created Lifemagazine because he thought Americans would want to view their world through pictures
• Bourke-‐White became a cultural icon, as did Luce, with the introduction of these magazines
• Where a merge between newspaper functionality and magazine journalism
• Luce also created Sports Illustrated
Women’s magazines• Consumer magazines started targeting very specific
audiences, including women
• Godey’s Lady’s Book is a prime example, it became the it publication for current trends (like an old school People Style Watch)• Sarah Josepha Hale was editor from 1837-‐1877• Defined what women’s magazines would become• Gave women a voice, professionalized magazine writing
Public Domain
Women’s magazinesSERVICE MAGAZINES: “Seven Sisters”and others, how to do things better
• Health, cooking, employment, fashion
• Considered “how to” guides for the modern wife
FBL: Fashion, beauty, lifestyle: Vogue, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar
• Focus on elements pertaining to the beautiful life
Case study: Cosmopolitan• Cosmopolitan considered the “naughty cousin” of the
“Seven Sisters”
• Cosmopolitan focused on young, unmarried women
• Lurid headlines that brought readers in
• Occasionally featured male pinups (including one of Burt Reynolds)
• Helen Gurley Brown was longtime editor who rose circulation to 3 million in 1985
Public Domain
Men’s magazines1933: Esquire
Literature, pinups, and fashion for an intelligent readership
1953: Playboy
Pictures and a lifestyle. First issue featured nude Marilyn Monroe centerfold
1993: Maxim
“Lad”magazine featuring sex, sports, and humor. Meeting the needs of the “inner guy”
Today’s magazine market
New market concerns: Body Image• Magazines often criticized for presenting
“unrealistic” body images
• Dove reacted by buying space for ads featuring “real beauty” models (on left)
• Magazines now being pushed to include different-‐sized models
• Lizzie Miller gained a lot of attention when she was featured in Glamour and showed a small tummy
New market concerns: Race• American magazine covers rarely feature subjects of
color
• In 2012-‐13 only 18 percent of magazines featured people of color
• Sports Illustrated has only featured two women of color on its swimsuit issues in the magazine’s existence
• Trend may be changing, as more magazines targeted to teen audiences include minorities on covers (but it is because teen entertainment is more minority based?)
New market concerns: marketingCURRENT TRENDS IN PUBLISHING
• Targeting narrower audiences
• Presentation matters; layout and graphics critical
• Articles are short; busy readers with short attention spans
• Blurring of lines between advertising and editorial content or native advertising
MOVE TO NEW DIGITAL STRATEGIES
• Numerous magazines, like Newsweek, are now digital-‐only
• Time Inc. converting all its titles to “all-‐access” subscriptions that include both print and electronic editions
• The Atlantic has become profitable by adopting a digital-‐first strategy