Characteristics And Types Of Magazines r50q

Characteristics and Types of Magazines Magazines are a type of print media and a very popular part at that. Now, who doesn’t read or know about magazines? There may be no man alive in today’s world that has neither seen nor read a magazine. In fact, most of us have a favourite magazine or two. But have we ever wondered what a magazine is? What, never? Well, this module will provide the answers to everything there is to know about characteristics and types of magazines It also has information on the history of magazines. Definition of magazines: Apart from being regularly published storehouses of information, magazines, also called periodicals, serials, glossies or slicks, are publications that appear on a regular interval and contain a variety of content or articles. Magazines fall under the category of print mass media. Other types of print media are newspapers and books. Print media has had an interesting journey and magazines, even more so. Here is a detailed look at the topic: History of magazines: The English word magazine is derived from the Arabic word ‘makhazin’ that meant military storehouse of war materiel. The word ‘Magazine’ was coined for use by Edward Cave, editor of The Gentleman's Magazine. Before magazines started in England, articles were being published in periodical format in England since the turn of

the eighteenth century. Daniel Defoe started the first English magazine, The Review, in 1704 during or just after his imprisonment for criticizing the Church of England. His purpose was to offer his comment, criticism and satire to influence public taste. The form of the Review set the form for British magazines. Joseph Addison, a well known social critic, followed it’s example by writing essays for his friend Richard Steele’s magazine Tatler. Addison also created The Spectator, the most famous of the early British journals. It looked just like newspapers. In 1731, Edward Cave published the first issue of The Gentleman’s Magazine, the first periodical to feature a mix of informative and entertaining genres, and the first to call itself a “magazine.” Ten years later, the first magazines in the American colonies appeared, following the British formats, published by Benjamin Franklin and Andrew Bradford. In the nineteenth century, increased literacy, a larger middle class, and expansion led to a greater demand for magazines that could transmit information to the frontier. Improved techniques in paper manufacturing and printing machinery, including colour printing, beginning in the 1860s, lowered production costs. As a result, the number of magazines boomed, and the highest magazine circulations climbed from 40,000 before the Civil War to 100,000 by the end of the century. Ads slowly began to be integrated into the same pages as articles in the 1890s. By the 1910s, stories and articles were interspersed with ads, now printed in four colours, and split across separate pages to create the look of the modern magazine form we’re familiar with.

Here’s a look at magazine’s journey across the world in a nut shell: Timeline 

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1663: The world's first magazine – Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen (translation: Edifying Monthly Discussions) – is published in . 1731: The first modern general-interest magazine, The Gentleman's Magazine, is published in England as entertainment with essays, stories, poems and political commentary. 1739: The Scots Magazine begins and today remains the oldest consumer magazine in print. 1741 Benjamin Franklin intends to publish America's first magazine, General Magazine. 1770: The first women's magazine, The Lady's Magazine, starts with literary and fashion content plus embroidery patterns. 1843: The Economist begins examining politics, business, science and the arts.

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1857: The Atlantic magazine arrives. 1895: Collier's weekly published until 1957.

magazine

starts

and

is

1896: The first pulp fiction magazines are printed on cheap wood pulp paper with ragged untrimmed edges.

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1897: The old Saturday Evening Post is revived by Cyrus Curtis to become the most widely circulated weekly magazine. 1899: National Geographic appears. 1912: Photoplay is the first magazine for movie fans. 1922: Reader's Digest begins publishing. 1923: Time, the first U.S. newsmagazine, is started by Henry Luce.

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1925: New Yorker magazine arrives.

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1933: Newsweek begins publication.

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1933: Esquire is the first men's magazine.

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1936: Life, a weekly photojournalism magazine, is started by Henry Luce

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1937: Look, a bi-weekly, general-interest and photojournalism magazine, starts and continues to 1971. 1944: Seventeen is the first magazine devoted to adolescents. 1953: TV Guide starts. 1953: Playboy opens with Marilyn Monroe on the cover. 1954: Sports Illustrated is magazine owner Henry Luce.

started

by

Time

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1967: Rolling Stone demonstrates the popularity of special-interest magazines. 1967: New York magazine appears as a regional magazine. 1972: Feminist out Ms. magazine

Gloria

Steinem

brings

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1974: People debuts with Mia Farrow on the cover

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1990: Entertainment Weekly starts

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1993: Wired magazine arrives with a curiosity about everything under the Sun

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That’s a lot of history. But the module wouldn’t be doing full service to the topic unless some information on magazines in India is also included. History of magazines in India: The 1980s saw a boom in the publication of magazines in India, not only in English but in the major Indian languages as well. The magazine boom was set off by the launch of India Today in the mid seventies, and the new –look Illustrated Weekly of India under the editorship of Khushwant Singh. Its inspiration, right from its red- border cover page to its mode of gathering and editing and ‘packaging’ news, was very ‘Time- International’ inspired. Other magazines to be launched in quick succession in the early 1990s were Gentleman, Gentleman Fashion Quarterly, Onlooker, New Delhi, Bombay, The Week, G and a few others.

Several new film magazines and computer magazines also took off at the same time. The new magazines introduced colour, gloss and a snazzy style of reporting which personalised and dramatised issues and events. Photographs, illustrations, charts and graphs enlivened each page and the focus was on soft features. They were also published on glossy paper with a glamorous look. This especially attracted rs. The boom continued into the 1990s despite the packing up of long-established magazines like the Illustrated Weekly of India, Sunday and Bombay. The growth was spectacular in the case of general interest magazines, especially those dealing with business and finance, computers and electronics, fashion and lifestyle. Several special interest periodicals were launched in 1993, like Parenting, Young Mother, Auto India. Eating Out, Golfingly Yours, Dost, TV Today etc were also launched. The magazine boom almost went bust by the close of the millennium but picked up again around 2006, when as many as 2,600 magazines were ed with the Registrar of Newspapers for India. Magazine advertising was also growing faster as per the Association of Indian Magazines. However, readership surveys showed that the picture was not so bright after all. They revealed that there was a decline in magazine reading. This may very well be because of the many supplements and pull outs that became part of the daily and Sunday newspapers. Also, newspapers were gradually taking on the look and function of general interest magazines with supplements

or pages on health, environment, beauty, films and information technology. Nearly four out of every five Indian magazines today are in the Indian languages. Hindi alone has more than 3000 periodicals or magazines, followed by English with over 2,670. Periodicals in Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati, Bengali, Marathi Urdu, and Telugu too enjoy a robust circulation and readership. Types or Genres of Magazines: Most magazines look more or less the same at first glance, but there are differences within this broad category. Basically, magazines fall into two broad categories: consumer magazines and business magazines. Magazines can also be classified as: 

General interest magazines (e.g. Frontline, Today, The Week, The Sunday Times etc.)

India

Basic characteristics of general interest magazines such as the Newsweek, are: 

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They are intended for a general audience. One doesn’t need any special knowledge or skills to understand the articles in the magazine. One just needs to be able to read at a basic level. Their main purpose is to provide information for an educated, but non-specialist audience, of interested lay readers. No background knowledge or expertise is assumed.

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Articles usually provide a broad coverage of topics of current interest. Articles are written by journalists, freelance writers or staff of the magazine who have training as journalists, but may not have specialized training in the subject they are writing about. For example, a journalist can write about a biochemistry topic or a complex economic theory without any degrees in chemistry or economics. Publications are usually published by commercial enterprises, though some are published by professional organizations.

Special interest magazines (women's, sports, business, scuba diving, etc.), on the other hand, are magazines who serve readers who want to know more about a subject like , say, playing golf. Different types of magazines target different audiences and are typically published weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly or quarterly. They target different audiences like: 1. Consumer: These magazines target general reading audiences with special interests. For instance, there are consumer magazines that cover homes, sports, news, fashion, teen gossip, and many more groups of readers. Examples include AARP The Magazine, Reader's Digest, Better Homes & Gardens, National Geographic, People, Time, TV Guide, Sports Illustrated, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Redbook, Parents, Seventeen, ESPN Magazine, Money, Men's health, In Style, and thousands more.

2. Trade and Professional magazines: Target people working in trades, businesses and professional fields. Newsweeklies for media professionals like Editor & Publisher, Folio, Broadcasting & Cable, PR Week, Advertising Age, Publishers Weekly, Variety, Billboard; and thousands of other magazines such as National Fisherman, Construction Today, Investment Week, Beverage Industry, Candy Industry, Dairy Foods, Restaurant Magazine and others fall under this category. 3.House Organ: Also known as in-house magazines, inhouse publications and house journals, these periodicals are published by for-profit and not-for-profit organizations such as companies and special interest groups for their customers, employees, clients and . Examples include UN Today for university alumni, Avalon Hill General about Avalon Hill games, Friends magazine of Chevrolet Dealers and the numerous magazines published by airlines. 4. Business magazines: Business magazines like Business India, Business World, Business Today and Outlook Business are of special interest to the corporate world, to business and finance professionals. 5. Newsmagazines: A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of magazine featuring articles on current events. The trend of magazines doing so started as back as the beginning of World War I. As we have already seen, Henry Luce started the first newsmagazine called Time. It

was four years before Time saw a profit, but once it got rolling, it moved on to make magazine history. This started the trend of newsmagazines and we have countless magazines doing the same in India like Open. By 2002, a trend was seen in newsmagazines to move away from hard news and shift their focus toward more soft stories since the hard news was already being covered comprehensively by newspapers and news channels. 6. Women’s Magazines: Women’s magazines represent the largest and most financially successful magazine category. rs are fond of these publications because they target the segment of the population that buys the most consumer products. One of the longest published women’s magazine is Ladies’ Home Journal. It first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. The Journal, along with its major rivals, were long known as the "seven sisters" and included — Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, McCall’s, Redbook, and Woman’s’ Day. One of the currently popular women’s magazines today, Cosmopolitan, started out as a general interest magazine, even featuring many noteworthy investigative journalism pieces. However, when TV came along and spelled the demise of most of the general interest magazines, “Cosmo” had a new birth as a magazine for young woman with an interest in men, sex, and personal success.

7. Men’s Magazines: The first major “glossy” men’s magazine was Esquire, which was founded in 1933. Esquire featured pinups and impressive literary features. In 1953, Hugh Hefner, who was originally on the staff of Esquire, founded Playboy. The first edition contained nude photos of Marilyn Monroe—before she became something of a superstar. Hefner didn’t put a date on the magazine because he didn’t know if there would ever be a second edition. However, it sold out as soon as it hit the newsstands. Subscriptions to Playboy soon sured those of Esquire. 8. Highbrow Magazines: Magazines such as Harper’s, The New Yorker and Atlantic appeal to the so-called intelligentsia. These magazines, which date back to the 1850s, typically go into depth on cultural and political issues. But, they have a limited audience, and, as a result, they have had a hard time surviving. At the same time, their influence among selected audiences can be significant. Television TV news channels such as MSNBC and Fox News have in large measure taken over as sources of information for the liberal and conservative viewpoints, putting these magazines at serious disadvantage. 9. Trade Publications: The “trades” are limited circulation magazines designed to serve professionals working in specialized areas. Some, especially those that derive most of their income from paid subscriptions, serve their professions with timely, accurate, and unbiased articles.

Characteristics magazines:

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a. Trade and professional magazines: These periodicals provide news, information and how-to articles for readers working in specific industries with advertising content focused on those industries or trades including job notices. These magazines depend heavily on advertising for their survival and thus their main characteristic is that they may feature “reviews” of products and services that are simply puff pieces designed to the views of rs. Rather than present objective articles, these publications carefully avoid anything that would hurt their rs and do little more than expand on the concepts put forth in their paid advertising. It happens often that a trade publication with a large ad for a product also features a positive article on the same product. b. Newsmagazines: News magazines generally go more in-depth into stories than newspapers or television news, trying to give the reader an understanding of the important events, rather than just the facts. They focus more on opinion and commentary rather than just facts. This is their most important characteristic. Each important news magazine has a distinct style of reporting and writing and it is this which keeps drawing in their target readers.

The world’s first news magazine, Time established a distinct style of reporting and writing and the term “timespeak” was coined to cover the magazine’s “cut-tothe-chase,” sometimes irreverent, but always authoritative approach. Similarly, each newsmagazine has a writing and reporting style of its own, which defines it and makes it iconic. c. Women’s magazines: Most women’s magazines are positioned as having a marginal role in the public domain. Women’s magazines are also generally not associated with the forms of journalism which bring citizens information of crucial democratic importance. Editorially, this genre of magazines focuses on family structures and women’s role in society. For example, some popular women’s magazines of today which reach much younger female readers such as Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, and YM, share the characteristic of focusing on fashion, family, sex, lifestyle, diet, fitness etc. d. Men’s magazines: They are niche magazines for men as a general audience. Most magazines in this genre share the characteristic of focusing on specific hobbies and DIY projects. Topic wise most popular men’s magazines like Popular Science and Field & Stream focus on science and technology. Not all dwell on sex, of course; there are numerous magazines devoted to cars, motorcycles and computers that have large male readerships.

Even Playboy developed a history of publishing short stories by such notable writers as Arthur C. Clarke, Ian Fleming, Vladimir Nabokov, and Margaret Atwood. e. High Brow magazines: These focus on the cultural and intellectual elites and provide more in- depth debate than the daily newspapers can, freed from the tyranny of daily deadlines and the insistence of topicality. Distribution of Magazines: Magazines can be distributed through the mail; through sales at newsstands, bookstores or other vendors; and through a variety of free distribution methods including making them available at selected pick-up locations. There

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circulation:

Paid circulation: The magazine is sold to readers for a price, either on a per-issue basis or by subscription, where an annual fee is paid and issues are sent by mail to readers Free circulation: There is no cover price and issues are given away. Controlled circulation: Usually industry-based publications are distributed only to qualifying readers, often for free. This ploy was widely used before the rise of the World Wide Web and is still employed by some titles. Ownership of magazines in India:

Print media is seeing a high concentration of ownership or monopolies amongst the political and economic elite. So we have industrial houses that own and publish a number of newspapers and magazines such as women’s magazines, children’s periodicals, business weeklies, science journals and even comics. The Times of India group or the Bennet Coleman and Company Ltd, India’s biggest media house has a newspaper , Times of India and it has teamed up with BBC to publish the latter’s magazines, like Reader’s Digest in India. Living Media, the publisher of magazine India Today, also publishes a host of American/ European magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Men’s Health. Future of magazines: In the past couple of years, we’ve seen some of the most culturally significant magazines release digital archives in one form or another. In 2008, LIFE partnered with Google to release one of the world’s largest and richest photographic archives. Recently, Popular Science made 137 years of its archives available online. And every issue of SPIN magazine is available on Google Books. With the advancements in digital media, magazines are staring at a bleak future indeed. However, according to analysts up-market magazines in India (i.e. those that cost Rs. 100 or so per copy) are finding it easier to survive than those that cost less and aim for a wider circulation. So, maybe the future for magazines is niche and upmarket, not widely circulated and general interest. But if

India does go the way of the West in the structure of its magazine sector, then we will feel a great personal sense of loss because the journalistic revolution in India came not from newspapers, TV or the internet, it came from the magazine sector. If it wasn’t for magazines, Indian journalism would never ever have come of age.