Magazines

Site updated July 1, 2003

Magazine History

http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~ugoddk00/history.htm

Melissa Borrero

The website has general information on the main points in the life of the magazine. The site begins with some of the very first establishers of the magazine, Andrew Bradford and Ben Franklin. One of the technological improvements that it discusses was the change in the look of early magazines by the use of sketches, drawings, and engravings. For instance, hand-etched copper and steel engravings were very expensive, so they began engraving on woodcuts, which were cheaper and better in detail. The website also mentions some of the first successful magazines, such as Godey’s Lady’s Book. Although the site does not contain a timeline of the magazine’s history, it covers the time period from the 18th century to the 21st in different sections. Each section gives an overall detailed description on what occurred during that period of time. It is an academic site. The site has a few visuals. It also refers to other sites for more details on the history of some specific magazines that are mentioned.

Pulps on CD Rom

http://www.pulpsoncdrom.com

This site is a treasure trove of great art, from the garish covers to popular fiction magazines of the 1930s (called pulps) to the movie star magazines; comic books, too.

A visual treat. Click on it today for a fun history lesson. The illustration at the top of http: http://www.vizcom.info is a pulp magazine cover.

ThePulp.net

Articles, research links, popular fiction magazine history: hours of fun.

Dime Novels

http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/dp/pennies/cover.html

Follow the evolution of popular fiction genres by viewing these covers of early magazines. These are the missing link between magazines, comic books, and the paperback book.

Cosmopolitan History

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAcosmopolitan.htm

Roselyn Do

I chose this site because it focused in on one of my favorite magazines. It tells the history of Cosmo, before it became a bible for young women. It's just one example of the ways magazines evolve. It's hard to believe that Cosmo was once a family magazine, and had many established writers writing in it, like Rudyard Kipling. There are also links to other magazines, and their history, like Harper's Weekly.

Magazine History – People

http://store.yahoo.com/supersuscriptions/maghis.html .\

Megan Cannon


This website describes the important people in the
industry past and present. There is a very clear
chronological order to the information given with
detailed descriptions. The site doesn't offer many
visuals, but none are really needed if doing a
research paper. The site is best used for a paper on
the history of the medium and not specific topics.
The site creators are well funded through their dot
com business which the site is linked to. The
information is presented in an efficient matter that
can be used mainly by people who subscribe to
magazines or those interested in the history of
magazines in general. The site was created to educate
the public about magazine history. This site has
limited links to the business which created the site.

Magazine Business

http://www.magazine.org

Megan Cannon

There are many links
on this website to other forms of media and is great
for research on any particular subject. I was drawn to
the website because I was interested on the
circulation aspects that were presented in the
textbook (paid circulation and controlled
circulation), which I found here.

When you enter the site there are several links. If
you go to the consumer marketing link and scroll down
the page they have information for certain years and
magazines and their circulations. This is a great
research tool for the business aspect of the magazine
business. The site also features a glossary and a
magazine handbook link for advertising. If you haven't
seen this site, it is a great one to read through.

Magazine Business      

http://www.business-magazines.com/

Roselyn Do

This site is how magazines make their money; It's all focused on subscriptions. Some of the big print reads, "Fortune 500 Companies Save with us  --  So Can You!" Magazines sign up with companies like these so they can be categorized for consumers to choose from when looking for magazines of their choice. It's all a partnership in the magazine industry. 

Magazine Business

http://publishing.about.com/cs/magazines1/

Jana Ballard

This page lists a wide variety topics related to magazine publishing - from "Launching a New Magazine" to "Magazine Publishing Employment Resources".  Each link will take you to an individual article written by an About.com "Guide."  These guides are given specific topics and the responsibility of a section of About.com.  They write articles, provide content, moderate chats, and research topics.  The nice thing about this site is that most of the information is cross referenced and can lead you to interesting connections between topics.

Artistically the site is pleasing to the eye, and the text is easy to read.  Navigation is clearly set on the left hand side and a search feature is included at the top of the page.  Links are easy to spot, and headlines are set apart from the content.  The content will stretch to fit any screen resolution setting. 

The only downfall to this site is the lack of credit given to the "guides."  When citing works from this site it is often impossible to locate the name of the actual author of the article - which can (at times) lessen the credibility of the information contained within.

The magazine industry is not the only industry reviewed at About.com - many other forms of media can be researched here - TV, film, print, etc.  Check it out!


National Magazine Awards
http://asme.magazine.org/national_magazine_awards/

This site is full of names that have been chosen for the magazines
awards.  You can see what the criteria is for winning and you can see the
past winners of this prestigious award. 

Magazine Business

http://www.magazine.org/index.asp

Melissa Borrero

This site contains a vast range of coverage in the magazine business, its current status, comparison to the Internet and television, circulation of different magazines, and the discussion of online magazines. It also reports on the business history of magazines, for instance, 1997 was the best year for ad revenue growth, up 13% since 1984. This website does not concentrate on just one particular company, but gives an overall view on how different businesses are comparing to one another. It definitely covers most, if not all, of the magazine business, including helpful charts to support the evidence. The business site is very thorough and organized, and is clearly created by professionals who have done the appropriate research. MPA, or Magazine Publishers of America is the business website that shoots to be the primary source of information and expertise about the publishing industry. Although the visuals on the website are not that entertaining, (pictures of its staff, fact sheets, and charts) it mainly concentrates on the most important factor, the actual content. The only referral the site makes to others are those to retrieve the address and phone number of a magazine or publisher, because after all, the site’s goal is to give you all the information you need right then and there, without having to lead you elsewhere for more.


Magazines A To Z
http://www.magazinesatoz.com/
Zach McCorkle


This site contains every magazine imaginable that is published in the market
today.  You can scroll from A to Z to choose what magazine is suitable for
your reading pleasure.  It also gives you a direct link to that magazine's
homepage.

There is basically a magazine for every topic you can think.  Going to
a bookstore or a grocery store you see a lot of magazines, but that isn't
close to the amount that is displayed on this web site. 

Magazine Careers

Journalism Jobs

http://www.journalismjobs.com

Melissa Borrero

This site contains jobs not only in the magazine industry, but the whole media business. Each job position contains a description on both academic and skill qualifications wanted. For instance, according to the company, American Institute of Physics, a Production Editor or Senior Production Editor would have to possess a BA, have good organizational skills, flexibility, attention to detail, and ability to work under pressure of deadline and multiple tasks. Most of the job descriptions are DOE, which is understandable for such positions. There is a whole range of positions, Senior Writer, Editor in Chief, Senior Editors, Assistant, Editor, just to name a few, along with the specific company hiring, its location, and date the job was posted. The site not only consists of job opportunities, but also internships and general information about finding that particular job, with resources in media training, career articles, media news, events, and interviews. Although it does not include the history of the business, the site mainly concentrates on its purpose to provide various resources in finding a media related job. Despite the fact that you also are not able to search for jobs in a particular company, I would highly recommend and rate this website for one who is looking for a job in the media business. The site creators are in a business and obviously receive their job postings and information from where else but the media! Its main purpose is to supply one who is looking for a job in the media world with options and other helpful information. It offers little visuals and is very user friendly and direct, also with links to other media related material. For instance, if you click on the Magazines link, a list of the various titles comes up, to where you can visit each website.

Magazine Career opportunities

http://www.ppa.co.uk/careers/

Roselyn Do

This site allows you to learn how you can earn a career in the magazine industry. It gives you insights and tips on how to get in to sales, design, marketing, production, and publication. The tips are from actual marketing managers, design people who work in the industry, etc.

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