Quick — name three passions. Now, name your go-to resources for keeping up with the latest news, trends and opinions on these passions.
Chances are, you’re thinking of your favorite news sites, social feeds, the sites of companies or associations that specialize in these topics — and magazines.
That’s part of the medium’s magic: It can be as mainstream or as niche as you need it to be, and it changes often enough to remain relevant.
The print magazines found in bookstores andon newsstandsrun the gamut of popular interests. Factor in the titles produced by custom publishers or brands for specialty audiences, and the well of information and inspiration that shapes the way we live and work deepens considerably.
Despite the tired tropes that “print is dead” and that today’s readers lack attention spans, recent research fromMPA—The Association of Magazine Media shows that 9 in 10 American adults read magazines. The format is persists regardless of the platform it’s experienced through.
“Whether they are consumed in print, on tablets, on a smartphone or on the web, magazine media fulfill readers’ desires for timely information and entertainment that appeal to a broad spectrum of personal interests,” says MPA, adding that magazines also “deliver powerful relationships that influence, inspire and endure.”
To which I say, yes — and yes!
But what makes a magazine a magazine?
Each magazine has a unique mission and vision, target audience and subject matter focus — not to mention its own pool of contributors, publication process and methods for attracting readers.
And yet, certain common attributes distinguish magazines as a whole from other media. When clients ask what makes a magazine, my go-to answers are these.
Magazines have structure
Compare the latest issue of your favorite magazine with a preceding issue. The individual stories will be different, of course, but you’ll see that the bones are the same. In print publishing parlance, you’ll find these parts of a magazine:
Cover pages
Front-of-book content, which may include columns (including an editorial), letters to the editor, news, quick-hit trend pieces and publisher-focused content
The feature well, typically two to five long-form articles that are more extensively reported and more creatively designed
Back-of- book content, which may include reader-engagement pieces (such as quizzes or puzzles) and product-focused content (such as reviews)
The reason for this boils down to one simple truism: There’s comfort in continuity — both for readers and for the magazine producers.
Some readers consume a magazine from cover to cover. Others gravitate first to favorite writers or departments and then flip through the rest of the book, stopping to read only what interests them. Either way, all readers come to expect a certain experience each time. If there’s no rhyme or reason to what’s in each issue, they’re less likely to become emotionally or financially invested in the experience. On the other side of the equation are the publishers, editors, writers, designers, photographers, illustrators, advertisers and others who labor to create what ends up in readers’ hands. Having a constant framework from issue to issue allows for maximum creativity within that framework. Reinventing the formula every single time is exhausting, quite frankly, and deeply confusing to your readers serving.
Features are the entrees; columns, departments and spotlights of the magazine are the appetizers, sides and desserts.
Magazines have variety
If every story is roughly the same length and each issue is organized anddesignedthe same way, what you get is a very boring reader experience.
To put it in relatable terms: If features are the entrées, then columns, editorials and spotlights of the magazine are the appetizers, sides and desserts. If you overdo any one of these, you’re going to walk away under- or over-nourished and, most likely, dissatisfied.
A well-rounded reader experience, on the other hand, offers a mix of quick hits and deep dives, informed opinions and straight facts.
Feature articles typically quote more sources and examine topics in greater detail and with more objectivity. Because they have higher word counts, they rely on callout elements such as sidebars and pull quotes to break up the text and draw readers’ eyes. And they eschew a templated format, with each feature having its own look via varied (often dramatic) photo, illustration and font treatments.
Meanwhile, columns tend to be subjective and conform to a templated design — thus, they’re shorter. Departments also tend to be templated, shorter and often more visual to help break up the monotony of dense copy blocks. Think: non-narrative techniques like checklists, charts and infographics.
Magazines have personality
Food & WineversusBon Appétit.PeopleversusUs Weekly.TimeversusNewsweek.Sports IllustratedversusESPN The Magazine. In each case, you have titles treading the same territory, but they aren’t the same.
This is because the people who produce each of these titles have worked hard to cultivate a voice and tone, an editorial philosophy or a point of view that’s unique to that brand — apersonality.
It’s not just what they’re saying, it’s alsohow they say it. That’s why every magazine has an editorial style guide that goes beyond the grammar and punctuation rules dictated by the AP Stylebook, The Chicago Manual of Style or other publishing authorities. The standards a magazine staff establishes for the writing and design of the publication ensure consistency across issues and clarify—both for contributors and the audience—what the magazine stands for. Think plain versus pedantic, friendly versus formal, sarcastic versus serious and so on. Without some semblance of personality, a publicationfeels like a mouthpiecefor the company or association that produces it. There’s certainly a place for that type of communication, but it’s rare, if not downright impossible, to find all of that in anythingotherthan magazines.
But what makes a magazine a magazine? Each magazine has a unique mission and vision, target audience and subject matter focus — not to mention its own pool of contributors, publication process and methods for attracting readers.
They generally contain many interesting and sometimes sensuous photographs to attract readers. In general, magazine articles are easy to read, fairly brief in length, and may include illustrations or photographs. Magazines don't necessarily follow a specific format or structure in writing the articles.
In general, there are three categories of magazines: consumer, trade, and organization. A consumer magazine is what comes to mind most readily for most people when the term "magazine" is mentioned. Consumer magazines are on newsstands and in grocery store aisles everywhere.
The defining difference between clips and magazines is the presence of a feed mechanism in a magazine, typically a spring-loaded follower, which a clip lacks. A magazine has four parts as follows: a spring, a spring follower, a body and a base.
Magazines serve specific functions to society such as, surveillance, correlation, entertainment, and marketing goods and services. Another way that magazines separate themselves form newspapers is how specific they are.
The basic format for citing a magazine article is similar to the journal format. Required information includes author's name, article title, name of the magazine, date of issue, and inclusive page numbers. Some magazines may include volume numbers. None of the three styles require those for magazines citations.
All good magazines have a consistent rhythm or beat. Readers like to be able to easily find their favorite sections or columns, and they like to have a sense of where they are in the magazine at any time.
Like most other media, magazines seek to inform, persuade and entertain their audiences and put before them advertising messages of national, regional, state and city scope. Magazines never appear more frequently than once a week.
COMMON MAGAZINE SIZES: There are two standard sizes for perfect bound* magazines. Standard Size: 8 3⁄8” x 10 7⁄8” is an economical and common magazine page size. Digest Size: 5 3⁄8” x 8 3⁄8”
Aimed at educated, non-specialized audience. No background knowledge or expertise is assumed about the audience. Articles written by journalists, free-lance writers or staff writers. Often sources not cited. Published on a weekly or monthly basis.
A magazine or periodical will, in general, be written in a more elevated prose style, and will usually offer more in-depth coverage of news, if it carries news at all. If a newspaper attempts to inform, a magazine in contrast attempts to enlighten and entertain.
monthly. a periodical that is published every month (or 12 issues per year) quarterly. a periodical that is published every quarter (or four issues per year)
Structure. The newspaper and magazine publishing industries are made up of several departments that work together to produce a publication, whether it is in print or electronic form. In most cases these departments are editorial, sales, production, circulation, and promotions, or marketing.
The masthead is essentially a one-page informational overview of a publication and everyone involved in its creation. The masthead lists editorial staff, publisher, subscription details, and contact information. Members of the advisory board, readers, interns, proofreaders, and designers are also often listed.
In general, magazine articles are easy to read, fairly brief in length, and may include illustrations or photographs. Magazines don't necessarily follow a specific format or structure in writing the articles.
Magazines are not published daily like newspapers. Periodicity f magazines are longer than that of normal newspapers. In general, they are published weekly, biweekly or monthly. Unlike loose sheets ofnewspapers, magazines are produced as bound volumes.
Use of Everyday Language: Magazine articles are typically written with the average reader in mind, so the language used is easily read and simple to understand. Use of Illustrations and Photographs: Articles published in magazines frequently are illustrated with drawings or photographs, often in full color.
Here are a few reasons why some publications fail: Faulty editorial judgement – producing a book or publication that is poorly written or too long or short; poor copy editing; breaching copyright or causing defamation.
Magazines create interest around a specific topic, which attracts readers with similar interests. The more hom*ogeneous the magazine's audience, the more attractive it is to advertisers looking to target a specific type of consumer.
An effective article is structured into three parts: the introduction, the body, and conclusion. The introduction hooks the reader with a strong quote or anecdote. The body develops the subject. The conclusion leaves the reader with a question.
The three types of magazines are consumer magazines, trade magazines and organization magazines. Each type of magazine has a variety of popular subsections and genres.
The three types of magazines are consumer magazines, trade magazines and organization magazines. Each type of magazine has a variety of popular subsections and genres.
Upfront up front summarizing: Most common sizes for printing magazines are 8.5 by 11 and 5.5 by 8.5 inches. Both portrait and landscape are possible, either for perfect-bound magazines or saddle-stitched magazines. The digest size, which is a little smaller at 5.5 by 8.25 inches, is also widespread.
In military and naval use magazine came to mean a storage place for gunpowder or weapons or a place on a warship where the powder was kept. Later it came to mean either a place where valuable things were stored or the stored things themselves.
magazine, also called periodical, a printed or digitally published collection of texts (essays, articles, stories, poems), often illustrated, that is produced at regular intervals (excluding newspapers).
The layout grid is the basic pattern on which your magazine (or anything being designed) uses. It consists of a certain number of columns in various positions. The simplest way to start your project is to use a magazine page template.
Cover pages. Front-of-book content, which may include columns (including an editorial), letters to the editor, news, quick-hit trend pieces and publisher-focused content. The feature well, typically two to five long-form articles that are more extensively reported and more creatively designed.
Magazine comes from an Arabic word meaning 'storeroom,' so the usage of the word to refer to a place where bullets are held for a gun or where ammunition is kept in a battleship makes complete sense.
Jpegs are perfectly fine, make sure to use highest quality setting when you save them to avoid compression artifacts. Edit: Many printers advice against jpegs when asked, but that is mostly to avoid having uninformed people pulling small and hard compressed images from webpages and expect it to look good in print.
Introduction: My name is Fr. Dewey Fisher, I am a powerful, open, faithful, combative, spotless, faithful, fair person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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