Chapter 9:
Magazines
in the Age
of Specialization
Some guiding questions
What are the historical origins of the
magazine?
What was the role of magazines in the
early 20th century?
How have magazines changed in the Age
of Specialization?
How is the magazine industry organized
and structured today?
EARLY HISTORY OF MAGAZINES
The word “magazine” derives from
French magasin, meaning storehouse
or collection.
What is collected in today’s magazine?
Articles, stories, images, advertisements
17th-18th century magazines
In Europe, magazines served as
channels for political commentary
and persuasion.
Defoe’s Review (1704-1713, London)
Tatler, Spectator, Gentleman’s Magazine
How did they differ from
newspapers?
MAGAZINES IN COLONIAL AMERICA
Primarily served politicians, the
educated, and the merchant class
Most adults were illiterate at this time;
thus, small circulation
Covered issues of taxation, federal
power, Indian treaties, public
education, colonialism
Some issues with early magazines
Most republished articles from other
sources.
Often included poetry, political essays
Less timely than newspapers; often
published on irregular schedule
Mailing expenses were formidable
High publishing costs and small
circulations
19th century: beginnings of
specialized magazines
Religious periodicals boasted large
readerships.
Literary magazines
Magazines targeting occupational
markets (farmers, teachers, lawyers,
doctors).
Saturday Evening Post
Founded 1821, Philadelphia
Longest-running magazine in U.S.
history
Original and republished articles
News, poetry, essays, reviews
First magazine to appeal directly to
women.
Boom in magazine readership
Increases in literacy
Improvements in rail
service enabled shipping
600 magazines by 1850
5,000 magazines launched,
though most failed
Women’s magazines
Ladies’ Magazine (1828,
Sarah Josepha Hale)
merged with Godey’s
Lady’s Book (1830-1898)
Played central role in
educating working- and
middle-class women
Other important periodicals
Graham’s Magazine (1840-1858)
Knickerbocker (1833-1864)
Nation (1865-present)
Harper’s (1850-present)
Youth’s Companion (1826-1929)
The Development of
Modern American
Magazines
Large-circulation
magazines
Postal Act of 1879: lowered shipping
rates
Improved rail transportation for
shipping
Improved printing presses and massproduction facilities
Resulted in lowered prices, making
magazines more accessible to
working classes
Magazine Advertising
Companies bought ad pages to reach
expanding market.
Attracted consumer attention; appeal
to women consumers
Development of a national
marketplace
New venues for selling consumer
goods
department stores, supermarkets, dimestores
Popular Magazines and
Social Reform
Yellow Journalism: crusading for social
reform on behalf of public good
emphasized sensational stories and
included reports that exposed corruption
(also dubbed muckraking)
E.g., against poor living and working
conditions, unregulated medicines
Magazines provided greater depth of
investigative coverage
PHOTOJOURNALISM
The use of photos to
document the rhythms
of daily life, breaking
events
Photos as important as
text
Gave magazines
advantage over radio
Changed the way
people view the world
BOOM IN GENERAL
INTEREST MAGAZINES
IN 1920S AND 1930S
Saturday Evening Post
Readers Digest
Time
Life
Look
Rise of TV GUIDE
Established 1953 by Walter Annenberg’s
Triangle Publications.
Small format, supermarket sales strategy
Tapped into rise of TV in American culture
Regional editions tailored to local channels
Bought out by Rupert Murdoch’s News
Corp, LTD in 1988; used to promote Fox TV
FALL OF WEEKLY, GENERALINTEREST PERIODICALS
 Collier’s (1956)
 Woman’s Home Companion
(1956)
 Saturday Evening Post (1969)
 Look (1971)
 Life (1972)
WHY?
Expensive production costs
Changing consumer tastes
Rising postal and distribution
costs
Falling ad revenues
Competition with TV for
advertiser dollars
Who survived?
Smaller formats
Lower quality photos
Those that relied on supermarket
sales rather than subscriptions
Women’s magazines
THE AGE OF
SPECIALIZATION:
From mass marketing
to niche marketing
Trend to specialized marketing
Need for small, discrete audiences
that could be guaranteed to
advertisers
Development of regional and
demographic editions
Tailoring both content and ads to
different demographic groups
DEMOGRAPHICS
Dividing consumers into
categories based upon age, sex,
socioeconomic class,
occupation, geographic location,
lifestyle interests, hobbies,
religion, politics, etc.
What magazines do you read?
What is your
demographic profile?
FRAGMENTED
MAGAZINE MARKET
Aimed at communities of
readers who share values,
interests, and social identity
Magazines organized around
sports and leisure activities, travel
and geography, lifestyle, age,
race, ethnicity
Can you think of
some examples?
Alternative forms of
magazines
Supermarket tabloids
Webzines
Grassroots-published
personal “zines”
Newsletters
THE
MAGAZINE
INDUSTRY:
ORGANIZATION
AND ECONOMICS
Issues in magazine
publishing
Production and
technology
Editorial content
Advertising and sales
Circulation and
distribution
How do
magazines serve
a democratic
society?