Magazine History and the Transition to the Web
Magazines grew in popularity at the end of the 1800s. At this time there was a transition occurring in the United States; media began generating their revenue from advertisements. With the growth of the middle class and material culture in the country, developing a household name for a product was important to advertisers. This new structure, coupled with advertisers desire to reach as many consumers as possible, helped fuel the growth of many national magazines.
Magazines provided the perfect platform for advertising because of their national audience. Magazines remained the only national media until the rise of radio in the 1930s. Radio hurt the magazine business, but with the rise of television in the 1950s, both the magazine and radio industries took a hit.
Magazines did not always have a harmonious relationship with the Internet. At first media ignored the potential the Internet held. Only once readers began migrating online, causing advertisers to follow their readers, did magazines begin to take notice and reevaluate the assets of online publication.
The cost of producing a magazine shrinks if the magazine is published online; the Internet allows for flexibility and vast inexpensive distribution. An online website can also solve space limitation problems associated with printing.[1] There is a cost of holding and maintaining a domain URL and costs associated with the people running the magazine. Magazines that cannot afford printing costs due to loss of advertising revenue move to the less expensive online-only option. This allows the magazine to continue to function without the high subscription numbers necessary for the print version. The exception to this is niche magazines because of the audience they cater to.
The Internet has allowed general magazines with a lower subscription rate a less costly alternative to continue publishing. Teen People Magazine is one example of a magazine that has shifted to an online only publication. As reported by TheNew York Times, Teen PeopleMagazine moved to an online only publication in 2006. The magazine was selling less than a quarter of its newsstand copies when the magazine ceased publication.[2] Today, Teen People is still online, and its website includes pop-up advertisements about today’s hottest reality shows, celebrity gossip news and the latest trends.
Magazines are different than newspapers. Unlike newspapers, magazines have dramatic visual appeal in print and this dramatic look is appealing to advertisers. Advertising dollars have always determined the life span of magazines. With the number of media to advertise in growing, where to place ads is determined by the number of reader’s advertisers will reach using a given medium.
The Internet is affecting media because viewers can receive the same content online for no charge. With free content available online, people no longer want to pay to receive information. This decreases the number of people who subscribe to media, which ultimately decreases the appeal for advertisers.
But are all magazines placing their entire issues online? To understand the changes magazines have gone through, lets observe Vogue and Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. Observing Vogue and Jewelry Artist can assist in understanding the changes magazines have gone through, and how individual magazines are responding to these changes.
Two issues of both magazines were chosen to outline media changes. The first issue was from the 1990s, before the online transition took place. The second magazine is from 2010, after magazines established an online presence. The goal is to observe the changes in the print issues, and hopefully link these changes to the Internet.
[1] Richard Campbell, Christopher R. Martin and Bettina Fabos, Media and Culture: an introduction to mass communication (United States: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2008), 338.
[2] Katharine Steelye, “Teen People Magazine Closes, But Web Site Will Continue,” The New York Times (Eastern Edition). (July 26, 2006): C.5, Ebsco Host.
Magazines provided the perfect platform for advertising because of their national audience. Magazines remained the only national media until the rise of radio in the 1930s. Radio hurt the magazine business, but with the rise of television in the 1950s, both the magazine and radio industries took a hit.
Magazines did not always have a harmonious relationship with the Internet. At first media ignored the potential the Internet held. Only once readers began migrating online, causing advertisers to follow their readers, did magazines begin to take notice and reevaluate the assets of online publication.
The cost of producing a magazine shrinks if the magazine is published online; the Internet allows for flexibility and vast inexpensive distribution. An online website can also solve space limitation problems associated with printing.[1] There is a cost of holding and maintaining a domain URL and costs associated with the people running the magazine. Magazines that cannot afford printing costs due to loss of advertising revenue move to the less expensive online-only option. This allows the magazine to continue to function without the high subscription numbers necessary for the print version. The exception to this is niche magazines because of the audience they cater to.
The Internet has allowed general magazines with a lower subscription rate a less costly alternative to continue publishing. Teen People Magazine is one example of a magazine that has shifted to an online only publication. As reported by TheNew York Times, Teen PeopleMagazine moved to an online only publication in 2006. The magazine was selling less than a quarter of its newsstand copies when the magazine ceased publication.[2] Today, Teen People is still online, and its website includes pop-up advertisements about today’s hottest reality shows, celebrity gossip news and the latest trends.
Magazines are different than newspapers. Unlike newspapers, magazines have dramatic visual appeal in print and this dramatic look is appealing to advertisers. Advertising dollars have always determined the life span of magazines. With the number of media to advertise in growing, where to place ads is determined by the number of reader’s advertisers will reach using a given medium.
The Internet is affecting media because viewers can receive the same content online for no charge. With free content available online, people no longer want to pay to receive information. This decreases the number of people who subscribe to media, which ultimately decreases the appeal for advertisers.
But are all magazines placing their entire issues online? To understand the changes magazines have gone through, lets observe Vogue and Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. Observing Vogue and Jewelry Artist can assist in understanding the changes magazines have gone through, and how individual magazines are responding to these changes.
Two issues of both magazines were chosen to outline media changes. The first issue was from the 1990s, before the online transition took place. The second magazine is from 2010, after magazines established an online presence. The goal is to observe the changes in the print issues, and hopefully link these changes to the Internet.
[1] Richard Campbell, Christopher R. Martin and Bettina Fabos, Media and Culture: an introduction to mass communication (United States: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2008), 338.
[2] Katharine Steelye, “Teen People Magazine Closes, But Web Site Will Continue,” The New York Times (Eastern Edition). (July 26, 2006): C.5, Ebsco Host.
