Magazine critical analysis

Paper instructions:
Read chapter 9. It will tell you something about magazines, which will help you say more intelligent things about your magazine. You must make reference to the text in your paper to convince me that you’ve read it.

Read three issues (three separate editions) of a magazine. Who is the publisher/owner? What is its circulation? What is its target market? Who are its advertisers? What topics does it cover? Does it provide useful information for its intended readers?

This is somewhat like the newspaper assignment, in that you need to read the publication — the print version, not the online version — and see what you find. Magazines can be general interest, or they can be more specialized in the content area they cover. As a consequence there are very conservative and very liberal “news” magazines, and some that just try to present the news. But magazines cover a whole range of interests, from arts and crafts to parenting, environmental living, home and family, the economy, sports, and entertainment.

Note how often the magazine comes out. Is it weekly or monthly, or more or less often? (If it comes out multiple times a week, it’s a newspaper.) They may be national, local or regional in circulation.

Above all, read the mags. What stories do they cover, who are their advertisers, what techniques do they employ to try to make their content more interesting to readers, such as graphics, design, photographs and other art?