Evolution of Magazines in Contemporary World - Essay Example

MAGAZINES AS MEDIUM Magazines are publications that, strangely enough, began as what appeared to be soft-bound books, but with the distinction that they reflected “the taste and character of a community of people who create and read it…in a way that books…newspapers and newschannels…and broadcast media …do not,” and that they embody the vision of “a unique, strong-willed individual, who stamped it with his/her distinct personality” (Kleiner, 2010:1). This distinctive feature of magazines prevailed even after the soft-cover book format that began in the 1700s gave way to a slicker style at about 1890, and until after World War II (Kleiner, 2010) when magazines came to look the way they do today – with colourful pictures and attention grabbing graphics, short informal essays and fiction stories, and a balanced, stylized layout. The advent of the internet and electronic media ushered in e-magazines, which have evolved from being a mere version of the printed originals, to comprising a genre all their own. It is this evolution and its implications upon magazines as viable sources of research that provides the rationale behind this investigation. Articles in Academic Journals about Magazines Academic literature abounds in research revolving around magazines not just as a medium of communication but, more importantly, as an instrument to institute a change of social attitude. A good deal of articles, for instance, treat on magazines’ effectivity (or over-effectivity) in bringing to its readers’ attention health issues such as cancer-awareness and the evils of smoking and alcohol. While these magazines’ avowed intention is to provide useful information for the readership to arrive at a well-premised decision. Such is not always the end result, however, with magazines either creating too much of an impression as to be distortionary, or achieving the opposite of what is objectively intended. For example,Blanchard, et al (2002) expressed concern about the over-representation of breast cancer in popular magazines, thus distorting their readers’ risk perception of cancer and engendering unnecessary concern and worry. Likewise did McMenamin (2005) state that on the topic of breast cancer, magazines shed “lots of light but little illumination,” implying that magazines tend to inject much information, but little cogent explanation to put the information into proper perspective. Studies have also found that even without showing images of smoking, magazines are still capable of promoting tobacco use through the use of brand imagery. Such subtle techniques are called “under-the-radar” strategies that associate tobacco with a lifestyle characterized by recreation, action, pleasures and risky behaviours (Cortese et al., 2009) and by causing young people to identify with what they regard as the image of an attractive, sociable, and reassuring lifestyle. Similarly, although not expressly advocating drinking among the youth, King et al (2009) determined that magazines tended to promote alcoholic beverages preferred by the youth where readership is composed largely by the youth. Still, other academic literature tended to explore evidence of magazines’ strong influence over their readers’ attitudes towards social issues. The matter of gender perceptions was explored by Del-Toso-Craviotto (2005) who drew correlations between the choice of vocabulary in women’s magazines and the dominant gender ideology of the magazine, making this medium a powerful instrument in “maintaining and challenging gender ideologies in US society” (p.2003). McCleneghan gave the same theme a negative twist in finding from a statistical study of attitudinal statements from respondents that Cosmopolitan and Glamour magazines “sold sex” to college females (i.e., influenced their readership’s attitude towards their sexuality). Similar studies were done on male readers’ perception of their own sexual image. Labre (2005) determined that fitness magazines tended to sway readers’ perception of the ideal male body, such that college men tended to internalize the lean and muscular physique as the must-have body type. Articles in Websites concerning Magazines Websites, themselves at times e-magazines in their own right, abound with content that openly cater to their viewers’ social attitudes and images about themselves. Magazines and Media (2010) gives a rundown of and links to magazine titles and stories on the latest fashion trends, brands, and events. It expresses opinions boldly and assumes the reader accepts these opinions without question. In the case of the MPA-Handbook’s Magazines: The Medium of Action for 2009/10, data to support magazines’ exceptional performance are provided, but do not go into inferential statistics to prove the point to within acceptable error levels, as may be seen in the reproduction below. Source: Magazine Publishers of America, 2009 Comparing Web articles and academic journal articles on the same topic The scan of articles from both academic journal and from websites brings an interesting comparison of the manner in which information about magazines are presented. For instance, academic article Black (2009) conducted a study on Library Journal’s best magazines of the year and found that a good number of the so-called “best magazines” failed at a significant rate – in some years, reaching as many as 60% failing after a life of only five years or less, using a carefully described quantitative and qualitative methodology. In contrast, website article Woods (2007) adopts the opposing view in favour of the longevity of magazines for as long as they are (1) actively purchased (2) technology-proof (3) creative (4) sell ad space (5) offer reach and print. Basis offered are testamentary opinions of prominent people. Another example is comparison of academic article Simon (2007) with web article Sivek (2010). Simon found strong evidence, using empirical modelling, that digital content cannibalizes print sales; it was proven that a magazine’s print circulation falls about 3-4% when it offers a website, although the effect varies with the type of digital content the magazine offers. Sivek, on the other hand, sees digital media to complement print magazines and vice-versa by providing readers a voice and a way to provide quick and instant feedback, and enhance pass-along readership. Another web article by Magazine Publishers of Australia (2010) appears to confirm Sivek’s findings, although both do not go further than present descriptive statistics to back up their findings. Source: Magazine Publishers of Australia, 2010 Based on the foregoing examples, it appears that the difference between web sources and academic journal articles lie in the following distinctions: Length – Academic articles are much longer and more thorough in their discussion compared to website articles, which are kept short and interesting, and summarize results of evaluation rather than explain the evaluation process fully. Evidentiary basis – Academic articles are rigorous when it comes to the use of data and providing proof, explaining the source and qualification of the data, the rationale for using it and for evaluating it in the manner it was evaluated. On the other hand, website articles usually go no far than citing its source and providing reasonable corroboration, leaving it up to the reader to pursue further the validity of the source and the method of arriving at the conclusion. Language – Choice of words for the academic article is, understandable, scholarly and formal, applying specialized terms meant to be understand by readers oriented in a specialized field. Web articles, in contrast, use the vernacular or common language understood by a wide readership from different backgrounds. Readership – As implied in the use of language, academic articles are focused on a specialized target readership, while web articles are meant to be read by everybody. Presentation – Academic articles are couched in straightforward text with visuals limited to graphs, charts and diagrams, which may be considered as boring by a wide majority of people, while web articles apply visuals that are colourful, creative and eye-catching. Web pages also offer links to other related sites, as well as advertisements which, although tastefully situated, may prove distracting. Purpose – Academic articles are meant to be reviewed by peers (stand the test of structured inquiry) while web articles are meant to provide general information. Credibility – An academic article draws its credibility from the reputation of the journal it appears in, while credibility of web articles dependents on the reputation of the author or institution that created it. Importance accorded – Findings of journal articles are given great importance and are assumed to hold true until disproven by another equally reputed academic study, while web articles are taken usually as entertainment, with importance depending upon the perception of the reader. Time for preparation – Academic articles take months, or even years, to accomplish, while web articles involve only cursory research and may take only days or a few weeks to write Funding – Journal studies are funded by the commissioning institutions, while web articles rely on advertisement subscriptions. It may thus be concluded from this exercise that a medium, such as magazines, may be evaluated favourably or not depending upon the source of information. Each source provides a different frame of reference and thus, information from a variety of sources is necessary to arrive at a well-founded conclusion. From the information gathered here concerning magazines as medium, there is sufficient reason to believe that magazines, both printed and online, continue to provide a viable and important means of communication to a wide readership. WORDCOUNT = 1,500 REFERENCES Black, S 2009, ‘Life spans of Library Journal’s “Best Magazines of the Year”, Serials Review, Elsevier, Inc., doi:10.1016/j.serrev.2009.08.013 Blanchard, D; Erblich, J; Montgomery, G H; & Bovbjerg, D H 2002, ‘Read All About It: The Over-Representation of Breast Cancer in Popular Magazines,’ Preventive Medicine, vol. 35, pp. 343-348 Cortese, D K; Lewis, M J; & Ling, P M 2009 ‘Tobacco Industry Lifestyle Magazines Targeted to Young Adults’, Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 45, pp. 268-280 Del-Toso-Craviotto, M 2006, ‘Words that matter: Lexical choice and gender ideologies in women’s magazines’, Journal of Pragmatics, vol. 38, pp. 2003-2021 King, C J D III; Siegel, M; Jernigan, D H; Wulach, L; Ross, C; Dixon, K; & Ostroff, J 2009 ‘Adolescent Exposure to Alcohol Placement in Relation to Underage Youth Readership’, Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 45, pp. 626-633 Kleiner, A 2010 Magazines from a format perspective. Accessed 30 March 2010 Labre, M P 2005 ‘The male body ideal: perspectives of readers and non-readers of fitness magazines’, JMHG, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 223-229 MacFadyen, L; Amos, A; Hastings, G; & Parkes, E 2003 ‘”They look like my kind of people’, Social Science & Medicine, vol. 56, pp. 491-499. Magazines & Media 2010, accessed 30 March 2010 Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) 2009 ‘Magazines: The Medium of Action’, MPA Handbook 2009/10. Accessed 30 March 2010 Magazine Publishers of Australia 2009 Magazine Mythbusters. Accessed 30 March 2010 McCleneghan, J S 2003 ‘Selling sex to college females: their attitudes about Cosmopolitan and Glamour magazines’, The Social Science Journal, vol. 40, pp. 317-325 McMenamin, M; Barry, H; Lennon, A-M; Purcell, H; Baum, M; Keegan, D; McDermott, E; O’Donoghue, L D; & Mulcahy, H 2005, ‘A survey of breast cancer awareness and knowledge in a Western population: lots of light but little illumination”, European Journal of Cancer, vol. 41, pp. 393-397 Simon, D H & Kadiyali, V 2007, ‘The effect of a magazine’s free digital content on its print circulation: Cannibalization or complementarity?’ Information Economics and Policy, vol. 19, pp. 344-361 Sivek, S C 2010, ‘How Magazines Use Social Media to Boost Pass-Along, Build Voice’, Mediashift, March 16, 2010, accessed 30 March 2010 from Woods, A 2007 ‘Ten reasons why magazines have a great future’, MediaWeek, 10 July 2007, accessed 30 March 2010 Read More