#3: Magazines are Awesome (A Snippet)

On September 17th, Mr. Miller gave a lecture about magazines and their history. Included in his lecture was a brief note on what separates magazines from newspapers. Before this, I hadn't fully understood why magazines were so revolutionary compared to newspapers. I understood the general difference, but it made me think of newspapers as something besides celebrity gossip and fashion.

The Difference between Magazines and Newspapers

• Magazines come out less often. Where a newspaper would come out every day, a magazine may come out only weekly, monthly, or even annually. 
• In magazines, the information was evergreen-- when you picked it up a month or two later, the information in it (take a recipe, for example) would still be relevant. 
• Because magazines had longer deadlines, Muckrakers came about. In magazines, you could have more depth. There was not only more time to work on a piece, but also more space you could use. 
• Magazines were the first national medium. They were made available to everyone. Even in 1879, magazines were found to be so important that the rate was a penny a pound. This made it affordable so that it could be shipped across the U.S.

All these are facts that I certainly hadn't realized. But it gets better.

Magazines were also the innovator of many things that seem common-place to us today, but that I at least did not expect to come from newspapers. 

Innovations of Magazines

• Magazines began photojournalism. This new form of telling a story became wildly popular. As time has worn on, people have grown more and more fond of this way of reporting. Some magazines, such as National Geographic, are widely known for their photojournalism and take pride in using it more than actual stories. 
• As stated earlier, Muckrakers came from magazines. Watchdog journalism had to start somewhere. I am personally shocked that it wasn't from newspapers; then again, my obscure mental picture of magazines did not include investigative journalism or long articles. However, it's true! With longer articles and fewer deadlines, Muckrakers were bound to spring from magazines. 
• Personality profiles got their start in magazines. Like the muckrakers, personality profiles were longer articles, and therefore needed more room and time then a newspaper could allow. Ergo, magazines were their canvas.
• Magazines were the first national medium. That in and of itself is amazing. Whether it was the serialized American literature or the work of Muckrakers, magazines managed to become a national hit. They were something everyone could read and everyone could talk about. 

These innovations and differences from newspapers really made me wonder about magazines and just how different they were. Though there might not be as wide-spread of a tradition as with newspapers, magazines certainly did much to aid the spread of national news and awareness. I realize now that the world would be a very different place without magazines.