Magazine

{{Short description|Publication that is typically distributed at a regular interval}} {{About|publications}} {{Redirect|Quarterly|quarterly in heraldry|Quartering (heraldry)}} {{multiple issues| {{More footnotes needed|date=January 2025}} {{Page numbers needed|date=January 2025}} {{Update|part=lead, and throughout |reason=article fails to address, except obliquely and sporadically, the surpassing and well-documented impact of the industry's print-to-digital transition, which effects the whole of this article |inaccurate=yes|date=January 2025}} }} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} [[File:Harper's January.png|thumb|right|upright|''Harper's Monthly'', a literary and political force in the late 19th century{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}]] A '''magazine'''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dorsey |first=Ralph |title=Get This Magazine |url=https://getthismagazine.com/ |website=Getthismagazine.com |access-date=2 May 2025 |archive-date=13 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250713052528/https://getthismagazine.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> is a periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content forms. Magazines are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination of the three. They are categorised by their frequency of publication (i.e., as weeklies, monthlies, quarterlies, etc.), their target audiences (e.g., women's and trade magazines), their subjects of focus (e.g., popular science and religious), and their tones or approach (e.g., works of satire or humor). Appearance on the cover of print magazines has historically been understood to convey a place of honor or distinction to an individual or event.

==Term origin and definition== ===Origin=== The etymology of the word "magazine" suggests derivation from the Arabic {{Transliteration|ar|makhāzin}} ({{lang|ar|مخازن}}), the broken plural of {{Transliteration|ar|makhzan}} ({{lang|ar|مخزن}}) meaning "depot, storehouse" (originally military storehouse); that comes to English via Middle French {{lang|frm|magasin}} and Italian {{lang|it|magazzino}}.<ref name="etymonline.com">{{Cite web |title=magazine {{!}} Origin and meaning of magazine |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/magazine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813230843/https://www.etymonline.com/word/magazine |archive-date=13 August 2019 |access-date=2019-10-02 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |language=en}}</ref> In its original sense, the word "magazine" referred to a storage space or device.<ref name="etymonline.com"/>

===Definitions=== {{expand section | with = definitions that are sourced, so as to move the subsection away from WP:OR and editor perspective/opinion | small = no|date=January 2025}} In the case of written publication, it refers to a collection of written articles; hence, magazine publications share the moniker with storage units for military equipment such as gunpowder, artillery and firearm magazines, and in French and Russian (adopted from the French, as {{lang|ru|магазин}}), retailers such as department stores.<ref>{{Cite web | author = Merriam-Webster Staff | title=Magazine, n. |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/magazine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427211822/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/magazine |archive-date=27 April 2019 |access-date=18 September 2019 |work = Merriam-Webster.com}}</ref>

The difference between magazines and journals are their audience, purpose, and publication process. Journal articles are written by experts for experts, while magazine articles are usually intended for the general public or a demographic. Journals contain recent research on specific areas, while magazines aim to entertain, inform, or educate a general audience on a wide range of topics. Journals are published by academic or professional organizations, and may be peer-reviewed, while magazine articles are typically shorter and more accessible than journal articles, often written in a journalistic style.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holtze |first=Terri |title=UofL Libraries: Differences between Magazines and Journals: Home |url=https://library.louisville.edu/c.php?g=526061&p=3596891 |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Library of University of Louisville |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What's the difference between a journal, magazine, or newspaper article? - Ask Us! |url=https://askus.library.tulsacc.edu/faq/221684 |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Library of Tulsa Community College}}</ref>

==Distribution== thumb|German print magazines Print magazines can be distributed through the mail, through sales by newsstands, bookstores, or other vendors, or through free distribution at selected pick-up locations, such as within libraries, near railway or bus stations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Free Magazines & Books |url=https://www.freebielist.com/magazines-books/ |website=FREEBIE LIST |access-date=21 January 2026 |date=5 November 2025}}</ref> Electronic distribution methods can include social media, email, news aggregators, and visibility of a publication's website and search engine results.<ref name=Bannister>{{cite web |last1=Bannister |first1=Ulric |title=Discovering the Best Places to Pick Up Free Magazines - InfoHeist |url=https://infoheist.com/where-can-i-pick-up-free-magazines/ |access-date=21 January 2026 |date=13 January 2026}}</ref> The traditional subscription business models for distribution fall into three main categories; Paid, Non-paid and Controlled.<ref name=climb>{{cite web |title=What Is Magazine Circulation? Definition and Types. |url=https://climbtheladder.com/what-is-magazine-circulation-definition-and-types/ |website=CLIMB |access-date=21 January 2026 |date=11 November 2025}}</ref>

===Paid circulation=== In this model, the magazine is sold to readers for a price, either on a per-issue basis or by subscription, where an annual fee or monthly price is paid and issues are sent by post to readers. Paid circulation allows for defined readership statistics.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://knowledge.auditedmedia.com/featured-content/circulation-101-us-newspaper-terms-for-paid-and-business-traveler-circulation|title=Circulation 101: U.S. Newspaper Terms for Paid and Business/Traveler Circulation|access-date=18 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118122845/https://knowledge.auditedmedia.com/featured-content/circulation-101-us-newspaper-terms-for-paid-and-business-traveler-circulation|archive-date=18 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Beech|first=Valerie|title=Research Guides: Advertising & Public Relations: Circulation data|url=https://libguides.marquette.edu/c.php?g=36683&p=233038|access-date=2020-10-09|website=libguides.marquette.edu|language=en}}</ref>

===Non-paid circulation=== This means that there is no cover price and issues are given away, for example in street dispensers, on airlines, or included with other products or publications.<ref name=Bannister/> Because this model involves giving issues away to unspecific populations, the statistics only entail the number of issues distributed, and not who reads them.

===Controlled circulation=== This is the model used by many trade magazines (industry-based periodicals) distributed only to qualifying readers, often for free and determined by some form of survey.<ref name=climb/> Because of costs (e.g., printing and postage) associated with the medium of print, publishers may not distribute free copies to everyone who requests one (unqualified leads); instead, they operate under controlled circulation, deciding who may receive free subscriptions based on each person's qualification as a member of the trade (and likelihood of buying, for example, likelihood of having corporate purchasing authority, as determined by job title). This allows a high level of certainty that advertisements will be received by the advertiser's target audience,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ppa.co.uk/all-about-magazines/circulation|title=Home Page – PPA|website=PPA|access-date=12 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308041226/http://www.ppa.co.uk/all-about-magazines/circulation/|archive-date=8 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> and it avoids wasted printing and distribution expenses. This latter model was widely used before the rise of the World Wide Web and is still employed by some titles. For example, in the United Kingdom, a number of computer-industry magazines use this model, including ''Computer Weekly'' and ''Computing'', and in finance, ''Waters Magazine''. For the global media industry, an example would be ''VideoAge International''.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

==History== {{more citations needed section|date = January 2025}} [[File:M. Browne - Herbert Railton - Sydney Grundy - Arthur Sullivan - Haddon Hall.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Front cover of 1 October 1892 issue of ''The Illustrated London News.'']] The earliest example of magazines was ''Erbauliche Monaths Unterredungen'', a literary and philosophy magazine, which was launched in 1663 in Germany.<ref name="mdes">{{cite web|title=History of magazines|url=http://www.magazinedesigning.com/history-of-the-magazines/|website=Magazine Designing|access-date=10 October 2013|date=26 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029183917/http://www.magazinedesigning.com/history-of-the-magazines/|archive-date=29 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Gentleman's Magazine'', first published in 1731 in London was the first general-interest magazine.<ref name="History"/> Edward Cave, who edited ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' under the pen name "Sylvanus Urban", was the first to use the term "magazine", on the analogy of a military storehouse,<ref>''OED'', ''s.v.'' "Magazine", and {{cite web|url=http://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/?p=5695|title=Magazine – A Dictionary of the English Language – Samuel Johnson – 1755|website=johnsonsdictionaryonline.com|access-date=16 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127040136/http://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/?p=5695|archive-date=27 January 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> the quote being: "a monthly collection, to treasure up as in a magazine".<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Magazine |volume=17 |page=301}}</ref> Founded by Herbert Ingram in 1842, ''The Illustrated London News'' was the first illustrated weekly news magazine.<ref name="History">{{cite news|title=The History of Magazines|url=https://www.magazines.com/history-of-magazines|publisher=Magazines.com|access-date=16 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827171442/https://www.magazines.com/history-of-magazines|archive-date=27 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Britain=== The oldest consumer magazine still in print is ''The Scots Magazine'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmediascotland.com/press/20344/app-launches-for-the-scots-magazine/|title=App launches for The Scots Magazine - allmediascotland…media jobs, media release service and media resources for all|website=www.allmediascotland.com|access-date=18 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914171226/http://www.allmediascotland.com/press/20344/app-launches-for-the-scots-magazine/|archive-date=14 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> which was first published in 1739, though multiple changes in ownership and gaps in publication totalling over 90 years weaken that claim. ''Lloyd's List'' was founded in Edward Lloyd's England coffee shop in 1734; although its online platform is still updated daily, it has not been published as a printed magazine since 2013, when it ended print publication after 274 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lloydslist.com/ll/incoming/article429827.ece|title=Lloyd's List set to become a totally digital service on 20 December 2013|website=lloydslist.com|access-date=7 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821210334/https://www.lloydslist.com/ll/incoming/article429827.ece|archive-date=21 August 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

===France=== {{main|History of French journalism|History of journalism}} {{more citations needed section|date = January 2025}}  [[File:GazettedeFrance.jpg|upright=0.7|thumb|right|''La Gazette'', 26 December 1786]] Under the Ancien Régime, the most prominent magazines were {{Lang|fr|Mercure de France}}, {{Lang|fr|Journal des sçavans}}, founded in 1665 for scientists, and {{Lang|fr|Gazette de France}}, founded in 1631. Jean Loret was one of France's first journalists. He disseminated the weekly news of music, dance and Parisian society from 1650 until 1665 in verse, in what he called a ''gazette burlesque'', assembled in three volumes of ''La Muse historique'' (1650, 1660, 1665). The French press lagged a generation behind the British, for they catered to the needs of the aristocracy, while the newer British counterparts were oriented toward the middle and working classes.<ref>Botein, Stephen; Censer, Jack R. & Ritvo, Harriet. "The periodical press in eighteenth-century English and French society: a cross-cultural approach." ''Comparative Studies in Society and History'' 23#3 (1981): 464–490.</ref>{{primary source inline|date=January 2025}}

Periodicals were censored by the central government in Paris. They were not totally quiescent politically—often they criticized Church abuses and bureaucratic ineptitude. They supported the monarchy and they played at most a small role in stimulating the revolution.<ref>{{cite book|first = Jack |last = Censer|isbn = 9781134861606 |title = The French press in the age of Enlightenment|date = 2002|publisher = Taylor & Francis}}{{full citation needed|date=January 2025}}</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2025}} During the Revolution, new periodicals played central roles as propaganda organs for various factions. Jean-Paul Marat (1743–1793) was the most prominent editor. His ''L'Ami du peuple'' advocated vigorously for the rights of the lower classes against the enemies of the people Marat hated; it closed when he was assassinated. After 1800 Napoleon reimposed strict censorship.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Revolution in Print: The Press in France, 1775-1800 |date=1989 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520064317 |editor-last=Darnton |editor-first=Robert |edition=1 |editor-last2=Roche |editor-first2=Daniel}}</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2025}}

Magazines flourished after Napoleon left in 1815. Most were based in Paris and most emphasized literature, poetry and stories. They served religious, cultural and political communities. In times of political crisis they expressed and helped shape the views of their readership and thereby were major elements in the changing political culture.<ref>Keith Michael Baker, et al., ''The French Revolution and the Creation of Modern Political Culture: The transformation of the political culture, 1789–1848'' (1989).{{full citation needed|date=January 2025}}</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2025}} For example, there were eight Catholic periodicals in 1830 in Paris. None were officially owned or sponsored by the Church and they reflected a range of opinion among educated Catholics about current issues, such as the 1830 July Revolution that overthrew the Bourbon monarchy. Several were strong supporters of the Bourbon kings, but all eight ultimately urged support for the new government, putting their appeals in terms of preserving civil order. They often discussed the relationship between church and state. Generally, they urged priests to focus on spiritual matters and not engage in politics. Historian M. Patricia Dougherty says this process created a distance between the Church and the new monarch and enabled Catholics to develop a new understanding of church-state relationships and the source of political authority.<ref>Dougherty, M. Patricia. "The French Catholic press and the July Revolution." ''French History'' 12#4 (1998): 403–428.</ref>{{primary source inline|date = January 2025}}

=== Turkey ===

==== General ==== The ''Moniteur Ottoman'' was a gazette written in French and first published in 1831 on the order of Mahmud II. It was the first official gazette of the Ottoman Empire, edited by Alexandre Blacque at the expense of the Sublime Porte. Its name perhaps referred to the French newspaper ''Le Moniteur Universel''. It was issued weekly. ''Takvim-i vekayi'' was published a few months later, intended as a translation of the ''Moniteur'' into Ottoman Turkish. After having been edited by former Consul for Denmark "''M. Franceschi''", and later on by "''Hassuna de Ghiez''", it was lastly edited by Lucien Rouet. However, facing the hostility of embassies, it was closed in the 1840s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Qiling |first=Ma'muriyatiga Murojaat |title=Usually a periodical publication: MAGAZINE |work=hozir.org |date=2019 |url=http://hozir.org/usually-a-periodical-publication.html }}</ref>

==== Satire ==== Satirical magazines of Turkey have a long tradition. One of the earliest satirical magazines was ''Diyojen'' which was launched in 1870.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Aviv |first=Efrat E. |date=2013 |title=Cartoons in Turkey – From Abdülhamid to Erdoğan |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00263206.2012.759101 |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |language=en |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=221–236 |doi=10.1080/00263206.2012.759101 |issn=0026-3206|url-access=subscription }}</ref> There are around 20 satirical magazines; the leading ones are ''Penguen'' (70,000 weekly circulation),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso |title=Turkish humor / Turkey / Regions and countries / Homepage - Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso |url=http://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Regions-and-countries/Turkey/Turkish-humor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202153510/http://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Regions-and-countries/Turkey/Turkish-humor |archive-date=2 February 2011 |access-date=2026-01-23 |website=www.balcanicaucaso.org |language=en-GB |url-status=live }}</ref> ''LeMan'' (50,000) and ''Uykusuz''. Historical examples include Oğuz Aral's magazine ''Gırgır'' (which reached a circulation of 750,000 in the 1970s)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tunc |first1=Asli |date=2001-10-19 |title=GIRGIR as a sociological phenomenon in Turkey: The transformation of a humor magazine |url=https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/humr.2001.002/html |journal=HUMOR |language=en |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=243–254 |doi=10.1515/humr.2001.002 |issn=1613-3722}}</ref> and ''Marko Paşa'' (launched in 1946).<ref name=":1" /> Others include ''L-Manyak'' and ''Lombak''.

===United States=== {{Further|History of American journalism|Mass media and American politics}}

==== Colonial America ==== {{expand section | with = a scholarly description of this subsection topic, derived from sources in addition to the one appearing Vogue fashion source | small = no | date = January 2025}} Publishing was a very expensive industry in colonial times. Paper and printer's ink were taxed imported goods and their quality was inconsistent. Interstate tariffs and a poor road system hindered distribution, even on a regional scale. Many magazines were launched, most failing within a few editions, but publishers kept trying. Benjamin Franklin is said to have envisioned one of the first magazines of the American colonies in 1741, the ''General Magazine and Historical Chronicle''. The ''Pennsylvania Magazine'', edited by Thomas Paine, ran only for a short time but was a very influential publication during the Revolutionary War. The final issue containing the text of the Declaration of Independence was published in 1776.<ref name=vogue>{{cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Daniel Delis |title=As Seen in Vogue: A Century of American Fashion in Advertising |date=2004 |page=2|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MvilOZhaRkAC&pg=PA2|publisher = Texas Tech University Press|isbn = 9780896726161}}</ref>{{better source needed|date = January 2025}}

==== Late 19th century ==== In the mid-19th century, monthly magazines gained popularity. They were general interest to begin, containing some news, vignettes, poems, history, political events, and social discussion.<ref>Straubhaar, LaRose, Davenport. ''Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology'' (Nelson Education, 2015).{{full citation needed|date = January 2025}}</ref>{{page needed|date = January 2025}} Unlike newspapers, they were more of a monthly record of current events along with entertaining stories, poems, and pictures. The first periodicals to branch out from news were ''Harper's'' and ''The Atlantic'', which focused on fostering the arts.<ref name="Biagi">Biagi, Shirley. Media Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media, 2013 Update. Cengage Publishing, 2013. {{full citation needed|date = January 2025}}</ref>{{page needed|date = January 2025}} Both ''Harper's'' and ''The Atlantic'' persist to this day, with ''Harper's'' being a cultural magazine and The Atlantic focusing mainly on world events. Early publications of ''Harper's'' even held famous works such as early publications of ''Moby Dick'' or famous events such as the laying of the world's first transatlantic telegraph cable; however, the majority of early content was trickle down from British events.<ref>{{Cite magazine|author = | magazine = Harper's Magazine|title = About|url = http://harpers.org/history/|date = 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151205201154/http://harpers.org/history/|archive-date = 5 December 2015|url-status = live}}</ref>

The development of the magazines stimulated an increase in literary criticism and political debate, moving towards more opinionated pieces from the objective newspapers.<ref name="Biagi" />{{page needed|date = January 2025}} The increased time between prints and the greater amount of space to write provided a forum for public arguments by scholars and critical observers.<ref name="Frank Luther Mott">{{cite book|first = Frank Luther|last = Mott|title = A History of American Magazines, 1865–1885|date = 1938|isbn = 9780674395527|publisher = Harvard University Press|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zt1V-ISXFsoC|access-date = 20 August 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160407224411/https://books.google.com/books?id=zt1V-ISXFsoC&printsec=frontcover|archive-date = 7 April 2016|url-status = live}}{{page needed|date = January 2025}}</ref>{{page needed|date = January 2025}}

The early periodical predecessors to magazines started to evolve to modern definition in the late 1800s.<ref name="Frank Luther Mott" />{{page needed|date = January 2025}} Works slowly became more specialized and the general discussion or cultural periodicals were forced to adapt to a consumer market which yearned for more localization of issues and events.<ref name="Biagi" />{{page needed|date = January 2025}}

====Progressive era: 1890s–1920s==== [[File:LIFEMagazine10Jul1924.jpg|thumb|The Olympic Number of ''Life'', 10 July 1924. Issues of general interest magazines focused on a specific subject were referred to as "numbers" and featured cover art relevant to the given topic, in this case the 1924 Summer Olympics.]] {{further|Muckrakers|Mass media and American politics}} Mass-circulation magazines became much more common after 1900, some with circulations in the hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Some passed the million-mark in the 1920s. It was an age of mass media. Because of the rapid expansion of national advertising, the cover price fell sharply to about 10 cents.<ref>{{cite book|first1 =Peter C.|last1= Holloran |first2= Catherine|last2= Cocks|first3= Alan |last3= Lessoff|title=The A to Z of the Progressive Era|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rt3243E-Wm0C&pg=PA266|year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810870697|access-date=|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191216215435/https://books.google.com/books?id=Rt3243E-Wm0C&pg=PA266|archive-date=16 December 2019 | page = 266}}</ref> One cause was the heavy coverage of corruption in politics, local government and big business, especially by ''Muckrakers.'' They were journalists who wrote for popular magazines to expose social and political sins and shortcomings. They relied on their own investigative journalism reporting; muckrakers often worked to expose social ills and corporate and political corruption. Muckraking magazines–notably ''McClure's''–took on corporate monopolies and crooked political machines while raising public awareness of chronic urban poverty, unsafe working conditions, and social issues such as child labor.<ref>Herbert Shapiro, ed., ''The muckrakers and American society'' (Heath, 1968), contains representative samples as well as academic commentary.{{full citation needed|date = January 2025}}</ref>{{page needed|date = January 2025}}

The journalists who specialized in exposing waste, corruption, and scandal operated at the state and local level, like Ray Stannard Baker, George Creel, and Brand Whitlock. Others, including Lincoln Steffens, exposed political corruption in many large cities; Ida Tarbell went after John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company. Samuel Hopkins Adams in 1905 showed the fraud involved in many patent medicines, Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel ''The Jungle'' gave a horrid portrayal of how meat was packed, and, also in 1906, David Graham Phillips unleashed a blistering indictment of the U.S. Senate. Roosevelt gave these journalists their nickname when he complained that they were not being helpful by raking up all the muck.<ref>Robert Miraldi, ed. ''The Muckrakers: Evangelical Crusaders'' (Praeger, 2000).{{full citation needed|date = January 2025}}</ref>{{page needed|date = January 2025}}<ref>Stein, Harry H. "American Muckrakers and Muckraking: The 50-Year Scholarship", ''Journalism Quarterly'', (1979) 56#1 pp 9–17.</ref>

==== 1930s–1990s ==== [[File:Fatima Rushdi - Al-Kawakeb cover.jpg|thumb|Actress Fatima Rushdi on the cover of Al-Kawakeb magazine, 12 September 1932]]

====21st century==== [[File:State 2009-01- Iss 530 (IA sim state-magazine 2009-01 530).pdf|thumb|Full scan of the January 2009 issue of ''State Magazine'', published by the United States Department of State]] According to the Research Department of Statista, closures of magazines outnumbered launches in North America during 2009. Although both figures declined during 2010–2015, launches outnumbered closures in each of those years, sometimes by a 3:1 ratio.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statista.com/statistics/248772/number-of-magazine-launches-and-closures-in-north-america/|title=Number of magazine launches and closures in North America 2015 {{!}} Statistic|website=Statista|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502210920/http://www.statista.com/statistics/248772/number-of-magazine-launches-and-closures-in-north-america/|archive-date=2 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Focusing more narrowly, MediaFinder.com found that 93 new magazines were launched during the first six months of 2014, while only 30 closed in that time frame. The category which produced the most new publications was "Regional interest", of which six new magazines were launched, including ''12th & Broad'' and ''Craft Beer & Brewing''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/229207/93-magazines-launch-in-first-half-of-2014.html|title=93 Magazines Launch in First Half of 2014|last=Sass|first=Erik|date=1 July 2014|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603085037/http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/229207/93-magazines-launch-in-first-half-of-2014.html|archive-date=3 June 2016|url-status=live}}{{full citation needed|date=January 2025}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=January 2025}} However, two magazines had to change their print schedules. Johnson Publishing's ''Jet'' stopped printing regular issues, making the transition to digital format, though still printing an annual print edition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.johnsonpublishing.com/index.php/in-the-news/jet-magazine-to-shift-to-digital-publishing-next-month/|title=Jet Magazine to Shift to Digital Publishing Next Month {{!}} Johnson Publishing Company|website=www.johnsonpublishing.com|first=Leslie|last=Kaufman|date=7 May 2014 |access-date=6 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604140121/http://www.johnsonpublishing.com/index.php/in-the-news/jet-magazine-to-shift-to-digital-publishing-next-month/|archive-date=4 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Ladies' Home Journal'' stopped their monthly schedule and home delivery for subscribers to become a quarterly newsstand-only special interest publication.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/business/media/ladies-home-journal-to-become-a-quarterly.html|title=Ladies' Home Journal to Become a Quarterly|last=Cohen|first=Noam|date=24 April 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=6 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529134712/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/business/media/ladies-home-journal-to-become-a-quarterly.html|archive-date=29 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to statistics from the end of 2013, subscription levels for 22 of the top 25 magazines declined from 2012 to 2013, with just ''Time'', ''Glamour'' and ''ESPN The Magazine'' gaining numbers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.magazinedeals.com/magazine/articles/brief-history-of-magazines-and-subscriptions.jsp|title=A Brief History of Magazines and Subscriptions|publisher=MagazineDeals.com|access-date=29 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629211757/http://www.magazinedeals.com/magazine/articles/brief-history-of-magazines-and-subscriptions.jsp|archive-date=29 June 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> However, by 2024, some titles, notably outdoors magazines, appeared to be growing in popularity.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Branch |first=John |date=2024-06-16 |title=In a Digital Age, High-End Outdoors Magazines Are Thriving in Print |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/16/business/media/outdoors-print-magazines.html |access-date=2024-06-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Furthermore, recent research (2025) has shown that print magazines are seen as more trustworthy, with better quality journalism.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Harrington-Lowe |first1=Sam |title=Title Media White Paper – The Big Print Questions |url=https://titlemedia.co.uk/title-media-white-paper-the-big-print-questions |website=Title Media |access-date=1 November 2025 |date=1 September 2025}}</ref>

====Women's magazines==== The "seven sisters" of American women's magazines are ''Ladies' Home Journal'', ''Good Housekeeping'', ''McCall's'', ''Woman's Day'', ''Redbook'', ''Family Circle'', and ''Better Homes and Gardens''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Women's periodicals in the United States: consumer magazines |date=1995 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-02930-1 |editor-last=Endres |editor-first=Kathleen L. |series=Historical guides to the world's periodicals and newspapers |location=Westport, Conn |editor-last2=Lueck |editor-first2=Therese L.}}</ref> Some magazines, among them ''Godey's Lady's Book'' and ''Harper's Bazaar'', were intended exclusively for a female audience, emphasizing the traditional gender roles of the 19th century.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} ''Harper's Bazaar'' was the first to focus exclusively on couture fashion, fashion accessories and textiles.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Best |first=Kate |title=The history of fashion journalism |date=2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |isbn=978-1-84788-656-9 |location=London; New York}}</ref> The inclusion of didactic content about housekeeping may have increased the appeal of the magazine for a broader audience of women and men concerned about the frivolity of a fashion magazine.<ref name=vogue/>{{verify source|date = January 2025}}

==Types== {{Expand section|date=February 2026}} There are many types of magazines. While some zero in on topics such as niche trade journals, cutting-edge research, or women's mags, others include topics like religion and pop culture. These may include deliciously satirical, dead serious, or a laugh-out-loud funny.

==Categories== {{expand section|with=separation of the combined categories of audience and subject, and through further sourcing and examples as needed, in each subsection|small=no|date=January 2025}}

===Based on periodicity=== Magazines are often categorised by their frequencies of publication (i.e., as weeklies, monthlies, quarterlies, etc.).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Laura |title=Resource Guides: Distinguish between types of publications: Popular Magazines |url=https://libraryguides.oswego.edu/publication-types/popularmags |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=SUNY Oswego, Penfield Library, State University of New York |language=en}}</ref>

=== Based on target audience and subject === ====Women's fashion==== The first women's magazine targeted toward wives and mothers was published in 1852.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-12-20 |title=Women's magazines down the ages |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/dec/20/women-pressandpublishing |url-access=registration |access-date=2020-11-25 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> In the 1920s, new magazines appealed to young German women with a sensuous image and advertisements for the appropriate clothes and accessories they would want to purchase. The glossy pages of ''Die Dame'' and ''Das Blatt der Hausfrau'' displayed the "Neue Frauen", "New Girl" – what Americans called the flapper. This ideal young woman was chic, financially independent, and an eager consumer of the latest fashions. Magazines kept her up to date on fashion, arts, sports, and modern technology such as automobiles and telephones.<ref>Nina Sylvester, "Before Cosmopolitan: The Girl in German women's magazines in the 1920s." ''Journalism Studies'' 8#4 (2007): 550–554.</ref>

==== Parenting ==== Other women's magazines have influenced views of motherhood and child-rearing through the use of advice columns, advertisements, and articles related to parenting.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Weaver|first1=Heather|last2=Proctor|first2=Helen|date=May 2018|title=The Question of the Spotted Muumuu: How the Australian Women's Weekly Manufactured a Vision of the Normative School Mother and Child, 1930s–1980s|journal=History of Education Quarterly|volume=58|issue=2|pages=229–260|doi=10.1017/heq.2018.4|s2cid=149955078|issn=0018-2680}}</ref> Mass-marketed women's magazines have shaped and transformed cultural values related to parenting practices. As such, magazines targeting women and parenthood have exerted power and influence over ideas about motherhood and child-rearing.<ref name=":0" />

==== Religion ==== Religious magazines have a long and varied history. In the United States, religious magazines are among the first magazines to appear, and their content helped shape the early Republic's literacy, morals, and political events. But during the past 150 years, their influence has lessened.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Waters |first=Ken |date=2001-06-01 |title=Vibrant, But Invisible: A Study of Contemporary Religious Periodicals |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900107800207 |journal=Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly |language=EN |volume=78 |issue=2 |pages=307–320 |doi=10.1177/107769900107800207 |issn=1077-6990|url-access=subscription }}</ref> See Christianity Today and The Tablet.

'''Interior Design'''

Several interior design magazine publications also started out in the late 19th century, featuring the latest and greatest developments in the scene, showcasing beautiful inspiring interiors and recording the changing trends and shifting demands of the public.

Some of the first few publications are ''Innen-Dekoration<ref>{{Cite web |title=Innen-Dekoration |url=https://www.arthistoryresearch.net/review/innen-dekoration.html |access-date=2026-01-09 |website=www.arthistoryresearch.net}}</ref>'' (founded in 1890), a monthly journal with well-illustrated articles on contemporary German and Austrian interiors and decorative art and ''Home Beautiful'' (founded in 1896), the oldest continually-published shelter magazine in the United States that shared the best of home inspiration and design education.

====Celebrity gossip, human interest==== Magazines publishing stories and photos of high-profile individuals and celebrities have long been a popular format in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2002-08-26|title=Top 20 Best-Selling Magazines In Supermarkets|url=https://www.supermarketnews.com/archive/top-20-best-selling-magazines-supermarkets|access-date=2021-01-21|website=Supermarket News}}</ref> In 2019, ''People Magazine'' ranked second behind ESPN Magazine in total reach with a reported reach of 98.51 million.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-09|title= Reach of popular magazines in the United States in June 2019|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/208807/estimated-print-audience-of-popular-magazines/|access-date=2021-01-21|website=Statista}}</ref>

==== Professional ==== [[File:Broadcast_Magazine_November_2024_cover.webp|thumb|An example of professional magazine is ''Broadcast'', targeted towards readers in radio and television broadcast industry in United Kingdom]] Professional magazines, also called trade magazines, or business-to-business magazines are targeted to readers employed in particular industries. These magazines typically cover industry trends and news of interest to professionals in the industry. Subscriptions often come with membership in a professional association. Professional magazines may derive revenue from advertisement placements or advertorials by companies selling products and services to a specific professional audience. Examples include ''Advertising Age,'' ''Automotive News, Broadcast, The Bookseller,'' and ''The Stage''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Q. What is a trade publication or trade magazine? |url=https://libanswers.mtsu.edu/faq/220193 |website=James E. Walker Library |publisher=Middle Tennessee State University |access-date=4 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=LIS1001: Resource Types |url=https://libguides.unf.edu/lisresourcetypes/tradepublications |website=Thomas G. Carpenter Library |publisher=University of North Florida |access-date=4 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Journals & Magazines |url=https://library.piedmont.edu/c.php?g=521332&p=3564565 |website=Arrendale Library |publisher=Piedmont University |access-date=4 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tobitt |first=Charlotte |date=2024-06-10 |title=Informa closes two B2B news brands covering TV business |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/b2b/informa-closes-book-on-76-years-of-b2b-publishing-axing-two-tv-titles/ |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=Press Gazette |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maher |first=Bron |date=2024-02-14 |title=The Stage and Bookseller shift resources towards digital future |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/b2b/the-stage-the-bookseller-cuts-digital/ |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=Press Gazette |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Based on tone or approach===  Magazines can be categorised by their tone or approach, e.g., as with periodical works of satire or humor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Trott |first=Vincent |date=2022-01-01 |title=Humour, neutrality, and preparedness: American satirical magazines and the First World War, 1914–1917 |journal=War in History |language=EN |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=104–136 |doi=10.1177/0968344520944205 |issn=0968-3445|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Puzzle magazines=== Like to Games World of Puzzles that is an American games and puzzle magazine.

==Cover== {{Further|cover art}} {{multiple issues|section=yes|{{unreferenced section|date = January 2025}} {{expand section | with = source-derived content discussing the meaning, and journalistic purpose and impact of magazine cover art and photography | small = no | date = January 2025}}}} Being on the cover of a magazine is sometimes considered an honor, or even historic;<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-12-07 |title=Time's Person of the Year: Not always an honour, but often historic |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/time-s-person-of-the-year-not-always-an-honour-but-often-historic-1.3885040 |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=CBC}}</ref> examples are one-time common statements to the effect that an individual had "appeared on the cover of ''Time''" or of the ''Rolling Stone'', etc.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-09 |title=WYEP's Rolling Stone Covers Day |url=https://www.wyep.org/wyep-programming/2022-11-09/wyeps-rolling-stone-covers-day |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=91.3 WYEP |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" {{!}} The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute |url=https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/time-magazines-man-year |access-date=2025-06-23 |website=Stanford, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute |language=en}}</ref>

The English ''Wikipedia'' presents a number of List-type articles that survey subjects and individuals appearing in the covers of specific magazines; see for example:  * List of stories on the cover of National Geographic; * List of individuals on the cover of ''Rolling Stone''; * List of people/stories on the cover of ''Time'' magazine; * List of individuals on the cover of U.S. ''Vogue''.

===Categories=== * {{c|Periodicals}} * {{c|Religious magazines}} * {{c|Satirical magazines}} * {{c|Wildlife magazines}}

==References== {{format footnotes|date=January 2025}} {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== {{refbegin}}

===General=== * {{cite book | author = Angeletti, Norberto & Oliva, Alberto | date = 2004 | title = Magazines That Make History: Their Origins, Development, and Influence | location = Gainesville, FL | publisher = University Press of Florida | isbn = 9780813027661 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MxZ_QgAACAAJ | access-date = 2025-01-08}} This work, by two ''Vogue'' magazine historians, also covers such magazine titles as ''Der Spiegel'', ''¡Hola!'', ''Life'', ''National Geographic'', ''Paris Match'', ''Reader's Digest'', ''People'', and ''Time''. * {{cite book | author = Thacker, Andrew & Brooker, Peter | date = 2009 | format = edited volume | title = The Oxford Critical and Cultural History of Modernist Magazines. Volume I: Britain and Ireland 1880–1955 | location = Oxford, England | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 9780199654291 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=U8NKAQAACAAJ | access-date = 2025-01-08}} * {{Cite journal | author = Buxton, William J. & McKercher, Catherine | date = Autumn 1988 | title = Newspapers, Magazines and Journalism in Canada: Towards a Critical Historiography | journal = Acadiensis: Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region | volume = 28 | issue = 1 | pages = 103–126 | url= https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/Acadiensis/article/view/10835 | url-status = | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221027050500/https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/Acadiensis/article/view/10835 | archive-date = 2022-10-27 | access-date=2025-01-08 |language=en |jstor=30303243}} * {{cite book | author = Cox, Howard & Mowatt, Simon | date = 2014 | format = | title = Revolutions from Grub Street: A History of Magazine Publishing in Britain | location = Oxford, England | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 9780199601639 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fKzSAgAAQBAJ | access-date = 2025-01-08}} * {{Cite web | author = Würgler, Andreas | date = 2012-11-26 | title = National and Transnational News Distribution 1400–1800 | work = European History Online (EGO) | url= https://www.ieg-ego.eu/wuerglera-2012-en | url-status = | archive-url = | archive-date = | access-date=2025-01-08 |language=en | translator = Reid, Christopher | editor = Wilke, Jürgen | location = Mainz, Germany | publisher = Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG)}}

===U.S. magazines=== {{format footnotes|section|date=January 2025}} * Baughman, James L. ''Henry R. Luce and the Rise of the American News Media'' (2001) [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801867169 excerpt and text search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229162427/https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801867169 |date=29 December 2022 }} * Brinkley, Alan. ''The Publisher: Henry Luce and His American Century'', Alfred A. Knopf (2010) 531 pp. ** [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/books/20book.html "A Magazine Master Builder"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701094817/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/books/20book.html |date=1 July 2017 }} Book review by Janet Maslin, ''The New York Times'', 19 April 2010 * Damon-Moore, Helen. ''Magazines for the Millions: Gender and Commerce in the Ladies' Home Journal and the Saturday Evening Post, 1880–1910'' (1994) [https://www.questia.com/library/102491415/magazines-for-the-millions-gender-and-commerce-in online]{{dead link|date=January 2025}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119183456/https://www.questia.com/library/102491415/magazines-for-the-millions-gender-and-commerce-in |date=19 November 2016 }} * Elson, Robert T. ''Time Inc: The Intimate History of a Publishing Enterprise, 1923–1941'' (1968); vol. 2: ''The World of Time Inc.: The Intimate History, 1941–1960'' (1973), official corporate history * Endres, Kathleen L. and Therese L. Lueck, eds. ''Women's Periodicals in the United States: Consumer Magazines'' (1995) [https://www.questia.com/library/3425396/women-s-periodicals-in-the-united-states-consumer online]{{dead link|date=January 2025}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119182709/https://www.questia.com/library/3425396/women-s-periodicals-in-the-united-states-consumer |date=19 November 2016 }} * Haveman, Heather A. ''Magazines and the Making of America: Modernization, Community, and Print Culture, 1741–1860'' (Princeton UP, 2015) * Johnson, Ronald Maberry and Abby Arthur Johnson. ''Propaganda and Aesthetics: The Literary Politics of Afro-American Magazines in the Twentieth Century'' (1979) [https://www.questia.com/library/1991169/propaganda-and-aesthetics-the-literary-politics-of online]{{dead link|date=January 2025}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119183549/https://www.questia.com/library/1991169/propaganda-and-aesthetics-the-literary-politics-of |date=19 November 2016 }}{{dead link|date=January 2025}} * Mott, Frank Luther. ''A History of American Magazines'' (five volumes, 1930–1968), detailed coverage of all major magazines, 1741 to 1930 by a leading scholar. * Nourie, Alan and Barbara Nourie. ''American Mass-Market Magazines'' (Greenwood Press, 1990) [https://www.questia.com/library/87284345/american-mass-market-magazines online]{{dead link|date=January 2025}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119182958/https://www.questia.com/library/87284345/american-mass-market-magazines |date=19 November 2016 }} * Rooks, Noliwe M. ''Ladies' Pages: African American Women's Magazines and the Culture That Made Them'' (Rutgers UP, 2004) [https://www.questia.com/library/120090273/ladies-pages-african-american-women-s-magazines online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119183001/https://www.questia.com/library/120090273/ladies-pages-african-american-women-s-magazines |date=19 November 2016 }} * Summer, David E. ''The Magazine Century: American Magazines Since 1900'' (Peter Lang Publishing; 2010) 242 pages. Examines the rapid growth of magazines throughout the 20th century and analyzes the form's current decline. * Tebbel, John, and Mary Ellen Zuckerman. ''The Magazine in America, 1741–1990'' (1991), popular history * Wood, James P. ''Magazines in the United States: Their Social and Economic Influence'' (1949) [https://www.questia.com/library/393437/magazines-in-the-united-states-their-social-and-economic online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119183616/https://www.questia.com/library/393437/magazines-in-the-united-states-their-social-and-economic |date=19 November 2016 }} * Zuckerman, Mary Ellen. ''A History of Popular Women's Magazines in the United States, 1792–1995'' (Greenwood Press, 1998) [https://www.questia.com/library/3772249/a-history-of-popular-women-s-magazines-in-the-united online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120003748/https://www.questia.com/library/3772249/a-history-of-popular-women-s-magazines-in-the-united |date=20 November 2016 }}

===Magazine cover-art related=== * {{Cite magazine | author = Mauney, Anna Claire | date = May 4, 2021 | title = A Brief History of Magazine Cover Illustration | magazine = Art & Object | url=https://www.artandobject.com/slideshows/brief-history-magazine-cover-illustration |access-date=2025-01-08 |language=en | location = Chapel Hill, NC | publisher = Journalistic, Inc.}} * {{Cite web | author = The Saturday Evening Post Staff | date = 2025-01-08 | title = Norman Rockwell Biography | work = The Saturday Evening Post | url = https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/norman-rockwell-biography/ | access-date = 2025-01-08}} This work discusses the history behind the 322 cover illustrations, generally painted, that Rockwell created for this magazine, through November 1963, before turning to another decade of painting illustrations about civil rights, poverty, and space exploration for ''Look'' magazine, en route to his 1977 Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to American portraiture. * {{Cite web | author = MoMA Staff | date = 2025-01-08 | title= Dennis Wheeler / American, born 1935 | website=MoMA.org | url=https://www.moma.org/artists/6333 | access-date = 2025-01-08 | location = New York, NY | publisher = The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)}} This work presents images of the seven cover graphic arts illustrations that Wheeler created for ''Life'' magazine, throughout 1963, originals and other materials related to which are now a part of this museum's collection. {{refend}}

==External links==  *{{Commons category-inline|Magazines}} *{{Wiktionary-inline|magazine|periodical|journal}} * {{IA|magazine_rack|The Magazine Rack Collection}}

Category:Magazines Category:Publications by format Magazines Category:Magazine publishing Category:Newspapers Category:Promotion and marketing communications Category:Revenue models