Magazines

“Most of (Time Magazine’s) investigative pieces are playlets
in which a Lone Ranger journalist corners a villain,
not with a gun but with an interview.”
60 Minutes, CBS, December 12th 1983

[Explaining to his editor at People Magazine why he's delaying his
interview with a 14-year-old blind baton twirler]
“That's why I'm calling, Jim. That way, I can have a story for you
this week and for next week, and... Jim, Jim, give me a break.
I'll fly to Dallas on Monday. She won't regain her eyesight over the
weekend. I know, but I think I've got something good right here.
I don't know, it's about everything: Um... suicide, despair, where
did our hope go? Lost hope, that's it, lost hope. Yeah, well, you
think everything is boring. I mean, you know, you wouldn't say that
if it was the Lost Hope Diet.”
Michael (played by Jeff Goldblum) in The Big Chill, 1983

If books are the cultural nutrition of our society, magazines are a delightful snack food.  They fill our minds with a gesture of information while whetting our appetite for something more substantial.

As with all other media, magazines receive the lion’s share of their income from advertising.  The amount of money a publisher can charge for those ads is in direct correlation to the circulation rate.  That circulation rate is calculated by a specific formula and monitored by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. 

However, for many advertisers the goal is not about the quantity of general readers but the quality of specific readers that fit one of their targeted demographics.  In other words, if the editorial content of a specific magazine delivers enough readers that are likely consumers of the product or service being sold, an advertiser will continue to advertise in that magazine.  Consequently, many publishers will offer “free subscriptions to qualified readers” in order to insure that they can deliver their advertisers message to the consumers the advertiser wants to reach.  This is one reason you will find so many fashion magazines at your local beauty salon.  Advertisers know that when gals are focused on making their hair look good they are likely to pay more attention to fashion and cosmetics ads that will further enhance their personal image.   

In recent years, there has been a steady decrease in the circulation rates of many magazines.  Publishers have shut down titles that were not delivering enough advertising dollars to sustain profit, or moved their magazines online where printing, shipping and distribution costs are eliminated and advertiser dollars are plentiful.  It is interesting to note that the top ten magazines in the country are all focused on the daily aspects of our modern lives.  It is even more interesting to note that these magazines have all been in continuous publication for decades.

Articles in this section will explore the ways that specific content in magazines reflect and illuminate the social and political events and trends in our daily experience.

< Back to Homepage