J200: Journalism and Mass Communications Week VII
Magazines
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
1
News of the week
 SafariX textbooks online
http://www.safarix.com/index.html
 Safari books online
http://www.safaribooksonline.com/
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
2
J200: Journalism and Mass Comm. Week VII - Magazines
 Earliest magazines in France; catalogues
of booksellers storehouses.
 Characteristics
 Published regularly
 Appeal to some fraction of the public
 Appeals to specific interests
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
3
J200: Journalism and Mass Comm. Week VII - Magazines
 On the media continuum, falls between
books (more permanent) and TV
(fleeting)
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
4
Historical Perspectives
 1704: Review. Daniel Defoe, editor
 3-times a week for 9 years
 1709: Tattler. Steele & Addison, eds.
 Covered politics, international and theatrical
news/gossip, essays
 Advertising
 1731: Gentlemen’s Magazine. Edward Cave, ed.
 Hired Dr. Samuel Johnson to cover
parliament.
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
5
Magazines in America
1740: Benj. Franklin announces plans to
publish:
General Magazine, and
Historical Chronicle, for All
the British Plantations in
America
-- Published six issues
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
6
Magazines in America
 Andrew Bradford (1741):
American Magazine
 three issues
 Until 1800, no American magazine lasted
longer than 14 months
 Problem = little advertising
 Average circulation: 500
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
7
Magazines in America
 After 1800: Magazines blossomed into
national force
 1820s, ‘30s and ‘40s: played similar role
that radio would play 100 years later
 1850s: Harper’s Monthly and The
Atlantic Monthly founded
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
8
Magazines in America
 Ante-bellum period: Magazines began to
reach national audiences, especially
special interest groups….
 Farmers: Tribune and Farmer
 Women: Ladies’ Home Journal
 By 1900: Good Housekeeping, Woman’s
Home Companion, McCall's, Harper’s
Bazaar, Vogue….
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
9
Magazines in America
 Magazines flourished from WWI until mid1950s, when TV hit
 What else was happening to change the
industry?
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
10
How magazines met competition
 Distribution and
marketing
 Newsstand sales
 Positioning
 Title at top
 Strong cover graphics
 Special racks
 Check-out location
 “slash” banner
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
11
How magazines met competition
 Subscriptions
 Cut-rate offers
 Special editions (regional; special interest)
 Demographic groups
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
12
Magazine Types: Consumer
 Appeal to a specific audience by demographic e.g. Seventeen: targeted to teenage girls.
 Vast majority of sell advertising on
approximately 50% of their pages.
 Easy to find compared to trade magazines
 Consumer magazines have (and need) a larger
circulation base than trade magazines.
 Consumer magazines generate greater revenue
than trade magazines.
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
13
Magazine Types: Trade
 Specialized business publications -often 'required




reading' for a particular job, industry or
profession.
Do not directly compete with consumer mags for
either advertising or circulation
Generally not found on the newsstands.
Both circulation and revenues are lower for trade
mags than for consumer magazines. (But ROI
often higher.)
Will either have a high subscription price
(compared to consumer magazines), or a
'controlled subscription' format, i.e. free to
qualified individuals
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
14
Magazine Types: In-house
 Directed to specific company or organization’s
audience
 Employees
 Stock holders
 Opinion makers (journalists, politicians)
 Often free or subscription included in
membership dues
 Often off-sets costs by carrying advertising
 Objective: communicate message of publishing
organization
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
15
Functional Magazine Categories
 Entertainment/escape
 News/information
 Advocacy/opinion
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
16
How magazines met competition
 Distribution and marketing
 Newsstand sales
 Positioning
 Title at top
 “slash” banner
 Strong cover graphics
 Special racks
 Check-out location
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
17
No. of Magazines in America
Average Circulation
for Top 100 ABC
Magazines 2003
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
18
Topics Published in Magazines in America
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
19
No. of Magazines in America
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
20
New Magazines in U.S.
 Samir Husni's New Magazine Guide
 http://www.mrmagazine.com/whatsnew.html
 New launches…
=http://www.shgncm.com/shgncm/
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
21
20th Century American Magazines
 Era of “personal editor”
(1920-’40s)




Arnold Gingrich: Esquire
Harold Ross: New Yorker
Henry Luce: TIME
Norman Cousins:
Saturday Review
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
22
20th Century American Magazines
 Era of “personal editor”
(1920-’40s)




Arnold Gingrich: Esquire
Harold Ross: New Yorker
Henry Luce: TIME
Norman Cousins:
Saturday Review
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
23
20th Century American Magazines
 Era of “personal editor”
(1920-’40s)




Arnold Gingrich: Esquire
Harold Ross: New Yorker
Henry Luce: TIME
Norman Cousins:
Saturday Review
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
24
20th Century American Magazines
 Era of “personal editor”
(1920-’40s)




Arnold Gingrich: Esquire
Harold Ross: New Yorker
Henry Luce: TIME
Norman Cousins:
Saturday Review
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
25
20th Century American Magazines: Modern
Editors
 Jann Wernner:
Rolling Stone
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
26
20th Century American Magazines: Modern
Editors
 Jann Wernner:
Rolling Stone
 Tina Brown:
Vanity Fair
NewYorker
TALK
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
27
20th Century American Magazines: Modern
Editors
 Jann Wernner:
Rolling Stone
 Tina Brown:
Vanity Fair
NewYorker
TALK
 Stephen Brill:
Brill’s Content
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
28
New Types of Magazines
 City Magazines
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
29
New Types of Magazines
 City Magazines
 Special Interest
magazines
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
30
New Types of Magazines
 City Magazines
 Special Interest
magazines
 One-shots
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
31
New Types of Magazines
 City Magazines
 Special Interest
magazines
 One-shots
 In-flight
magazines
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
32
New Types of Magazines
 City Magazines
 Special Interest
magazines
 One-shots
 In-flight
magazines
 Product magazines
(Lotus, Ford
Times)
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
33
Magazine Circ.
(c. 1996)
 Ad Age Paid Circulation of U.S.
Magazines
http://www.adage.com/page.cms?pageId
=1044
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
34
Before You Launch Your New Magazine*...
 Find an Editorial
Approach
 Know what
potential readers
want.
 How presently
served.
 Consider editorial
slant
 Editorial slant can
drive customers
away or increase
loyalty
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
35
Before You Launch Your New Magazine...
 Find an Editorial
Approach
 Research Prospective
Readers
 Know/ understand
reading habits/
preferences audience
 Know their lifestyles,
attitudes and values
 Info. costly/ time
consuming, but
invaluable
 Research on I-net;
local library
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
36
Before You Launch Your New Magazine...
 Find an Editorial
Approach
 Research Prospective
Readers
 How will you use the
info. for editorial
positioning,
circulation building
and “connection to
reader” efforts?
 How will you connect
with your readers?
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
37
Before You Launch Your New Magazine…
 Find an Editorial
Approach
 Research Prospective
Readers
 How will you connect
with your readers? Why?
 Just to sell “eyeballs”?
 Promote transactions
between advertisers
and readers?
 Management structure
 Old:
 Publisher
 Editor
 Art Director
 Today:




J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
Publisher
Editor
Art Director
Mgr. Of Information
Services
38
Before You Launch Your New Magazine…
 Find an Editorial
Approach
 Research Prospective
Readers
 How will you connect
with your readers?
 Advertising Sales
 Advertising volume
and revenue growth - NOT circulation
per se -- most often
determine a
publishing launch
success or failure
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
39
Before You Launch Your New Magazine…
 Find an Editorial
Approach
 Research Prospective
Readers
 How will you connect
with your readers?
 Advertising Sales
 How identify potential
advertisers and inform
them of your
“opportunity” for them?
 Where are your best
prospects? Where are
they currently
advertising?
 Strengths and
weaknesses of
competition?
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
40
Before You Launch Your New Magazine…
 Find an Editorial
Approach
 Research Prospective
Readers
 How will you connect
with your readers?
 Advertising Sales
 Should you allow
potential advertisers to
participate in prototype
development?
 How can you find, train
and manage the right
sales team?
 What milestones should
be established to
control your and
advertiser expectations
of your progress?
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
41
Before You Launch Your New Magazine…
 Find an Editorial




Approach
Research Prospective
Readers
How will you connect
with your readers?
Advertising Sales
Circulation
 What methods to
promote and sell via
newsstand, direct mail,
telephone and agency?
 What methods or
benchmarks will you use
to test the effectiveness
of these?
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
42
Before You Launch Your New Magazine…
 Find an Editorial




Approach
Research Prospective
Readers
How will you connect
with your readers?
Advertising Sales
Circulation
 What methods can you use
to make charter
subscription program
successful?
 What should your per name
subscription costs be? Could
they be lowered by using a
fulfillment bureau, or by
moving them in-house?
 Can you earn additional
income from such things as
mail list sales/rental etc.?
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
43
Before You Launch Your New Magazine…
 Find an Editorial





Approach
Research Prospective
Readers
How will you connect
with your readers?
Advertising Sales
Circulation
Launch Strategy
 Promotion and
monitoring of your launch
make or break new
magazine
J200 - Week VI © J.T.Johnson 1999_____________________________Fall 1999
44