Magazine Exceptionalism: Journalism, Media and Publishing - Essay Example

In the text under consideration, David Holmes proceeds to cite the examples of some important magazines that can be attributed largely the honor of altering the social dimensions and the way people thought. The most relevant example in this context is the magazine Sassy, which was targeted at the teenage girls and originated in Australia in the 70s (Tim Holmes ed. 2008). Eventually the Australian publishers took this magazine to America. The magazines catering to teenage girls until now were utterly conservative and modest in their approach to teenage issues (Tim Holmes ed. 2008). However, Sassy with its liberating content, revolving around the issues like teen sexuality and the erotic aspects of teenage girls' personality, played a pivotal role in changing the social norms (Tim Holmes ed. 2008). So much so, the other contemporary teenage magazines also started modifying their content to meet the competition posed by Sassy (Tim Holmes ed. 2008). The one other important magazine that brought to the forefront of the economic and cultural aspects of contemporary cinema was Esquire, published in the late 70s (Tim Holmes ed. 2008). Primarily, the magazines as a media form are very close to the masses (Tim Holmes ed. 2008). In contrast, other media forms like print and broadcast media prefer to retain a journalistic distance from society (Tim Holmes ed. 2008). Secondly, people look to the contents in the magazines as catalytic and proactive, which not only intends to inform them but also stimulates them to act and respond (Tim Holmes ed. 2008). Magazines are media forms that not merely direct the society from outside, but are something that lives, acts, and thrives within the confines of society and popular culture.

There may exist objections to this exalted aspect of magazines, as it is very difficult to establish the causality between the contents of a magazine and the attributed alterations in the society, in a strictly academic and scientific way (Tim Holmes ed. 2008). In a culture saturated with media, it is utterly difficult to attempt this analysis, as the media forms and the culture are often intricately intertwined (Tim Holmes ed. 2008). Still, magazines will continue to be an important and potent media form that will always have an important role in the shaping of the current culture and society.