Magazines

1
Magazines

• Chapter 5

2
Defining Characteristics

• Magazines are packaged in a format that is
  portable and convenient and that features
  high-quality print and exceptional
  visuals/photography

3
Magazine Characteristics

• Magazines are the medium most in tune with
  social, demographic, economic and cultural
  trends.
• As consumer and business needs change, some new
  magazines emerge, some old magazines may fold,
  and others fine-tune their content. Examples
  growth in Spanish language versions of popular
  mags such as People and Readers Digest the poker
  craze has lead to creation of some new poker
  magazines such as Bluff and All In.

4
Magazine Characteristics

• Magazines can influence social trends.
• Magazines helped fuel the American Revolution
  the muckrackers at the turn of the 20th century
  prompted social reform in the 1950s, Playboy
  launched the sexual revolution in America Ms.
  magazine helped usher in the womens movement in
  the 1970s. Think of how influential Rolling
  Stone magazine has been on Americas young
  people, and how People magazine helped spawn
  Americas fascination with celebrities.

5
Magazine Characteristics

• Magazines also attract the most specialized
  audiences (think magazines for cigar lovers, car
  buffs, accountants, senior citizens, gardeners,
  computer geeks, video game players, and on and
  on.)

6
Magazine Content Categories (6)

• 1. General consumer magazinescan be acquired by
  anyone through a subscription or a single-copy
  purchase or by obtaining a free copy. Called
  consumer magazines because readers can buy the
  products and services advertised.

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Magazine Content Categories

• 2. Business (or trade) publicationsserve
  business, industry or profession they are not
  sold in stores or newsstands and their readership
  is limited to those in the profession or
  business. Advertising is geared toward products
  and services used by the profession or business
  and is not geared toward the general public.

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Magazine Content Categories

• 3. Custom magazinesare published by
  corporations that try to keep existing customers
  satisfied while attracting new clients. Airlines
  have had their own in-flight magazines for years.
  These magazines can siphon off advertising
  dollars that say, Acura or Sony may have
  otherwise spent in a general consumer magazines.
  Editorial-wise, there is less journalistic
  independence in custom magazines.

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Magazine Content Categories

• 4. Literary Reviews and Academic
  Journalsgenerally published by nonprofit
  organizations and funded by universities,
  foundations and professional organizations
• 5. Newslettersinsider information
  publications extremely specialized with small
  circulations (generally under 10,000) but with
  high subscription fees

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Magazine Content Categories

• 6. Public Relations magazinespublished by a
  sponsoring company/organization and intended
  specifically for one or more of its publics. An
  internal PR magazine might be aimed at employees,
  salespeople and dealers while an external PR
  magazine would be directed at stockholders,
  potential customers, etc. These usually carry
  very little advertising.