The A-List: Do You Have What it Takes?

On Monday, October 29, the list was released. Unlike the weekly tabloids that make or break celebrities, establishing their status by how many times the paparazzi catches them surprisingly, being human, the A-List is annual. You have to stand out to be on the list. You have to be consistent and presentable; your hair or make-up cannot be messy and your clothes must be neatly pressed. People have to like you, as you are. Above all, you have to be made of paper.

Advertising Age is “the most trusted brand of news and intelligence on advertising, marketing and media, delivered however and whenever our community wants to consume it.” The trade magazine is available by print or internet, electronic newsletters, blogs, video and audio. It is the source to find who and what is hot in the advertising industry. That’s why it’s an honor when Ad Age places you in one of the ten positions on the A-List.

The 2007 list was dominated primarily by women’s magazines, in contrast to the 2006 list that was evenly balanced between home, food, celebrity, and women’s magazines.

Let’s break it down:

10. Harper’s Bazaar
9. Elle
8. Every Day with Rachael Ray
7. O, The Oprah Magazine
6. Prevention
5. Vogue
4. The Economist
3. Real Simple
2. More
1. Better Homes & Gardens

And, in 2006:

10. InTouch Weekly
9. Real Simple
8. Gourmet
7. National Geographic Adventure
6. People
5. Vogue
4. New York
3. Elle
2. Dwell
1. More

Only four magazines are on both lists; of those four, only one stayed in the same position both years — Vogue, at number five. More only moved down one space, but Elle moved down six spaces, in contrast to Real Simple that moved up six spaces.

The 2007 A-List, however more occupied by magazines that target a female audience, features a balance of new and old publications. It is quite possibly the best representation of the industry and audience today. Nine of the ten are specifically women's or home-related, in which case we can question whether or not magazine audiences will sooner or later be so targeted that some audiences will be alienated and neglected as others gain more and more popularity. Maybe the industry is something like high school...

Advertising throughout magazines

Is there to much advertising in magazines? Are magazines becoming just another tool to persuade society into materialistic needs, and are magazines now just a commercial tool for advertising companies? This question is often raised by magazines readers, however on the other hand can magazines survive without companies paying to place advertisements in the magazine.

Magazines are one of the important avenues advertisers seek to promote their goods. Advertisers are willing to pay for the attractive pages of a magazine as well as fight for prominence with in a magazine, for advertising companies recognize the power of being seen in particular magazine and on particular pages. Recognition of the wide audiences made available through magazine readership has ensured advertising companies use this tool of communication to advertise everything from woman’s razors, and the latest Gucci clothing to sports cars and holidays. However, it can be argued that Advertisements are beginning to take over the magazines content. For example, the Vogue October 2007 edition displayed purely advertisements for the first 40 pages. After these 40 pages the reader arrived at the first content page, and in the following pages every second page would display an advertisement. Throughout the whole magazine, even if there was a page that wasn’t an intended advertisement, the page would contain the brand of the clothing the model was wearing, where to get it, how much it costs and a phone number to call and order.

Thus it can be seen why many readers of magazines are frustrated and feeling that advertising is taking over magazines. Within magazines selected advertising companies, due to the power of money, have a large influence over editorial content and lay out of magazines thus, poising the question, how much of our favorite magazines is stylized with the sole intention of persuading us into a purchase a product? Clearly it can be argued that an advertising frenzy is occurring within magazines making this popular media tool a commercialized area to further sell and influence its readers.

On the other hand, it is a fact that advertising is a necessary component of a magazine production and without this the magazine will most likely fail. Within the production of a magazine there are three areas necessary to keep the magazine alive: editorial, advertising and circulation. Editorial must keep the reader interested and provide what the reader wants, circulation shows to the advertisers that the magazine has the audience they desire, and advertising provides the funds to keep the magazine alive. So, if all three work together there should not be the perception that is currently around, that magazines are becoming one of the biggest advertising tools in today’s mass media.

Facts minus the Fluff: Journals vs. Magazines

When magazines became most popular at the turn of the 20th century they were about providing facts in an entertaining way. Henry Luce and Harold Ross pioneered with Time and The New Yorker and pretty much modeled the way for magazines today. Overtime different publications have evolved in magazine history; however one form that tends to be known by everyone, but in the back of the mind is the journal.

There is a journal for almost every subject: scientific, women’s, history, men’s, etc. And within those subjects there are sub-categories for an entirely different journal. The purpose of a journal is completely different from your average magazine. One may think of them as mini textbooks that are updated quarterly (as most journals run on a quarterly schedule).

The two covers to the left show how different just the presentation of a journal and a magazine are. While magazines showcase what you'll find inside, a journal doesn't need explanation and usually sticks to a very plain, conservative cover. As far as whats inside, they are just as different as their covers.

In a magazine the author is simply a writer either interested or assigned to the subject at hand. Sometimes the writer has studied in the area of the article, but usually has no credentials in the subject.

In a journal the author is usually a professional in the subject at hand and often times the article is based on studies they have conducted or theories they have proven. In a journal the author will have credentials, doctorates, or even a Ph.D. in the subject they are writing about, giving them more credibility on the subjects. It also is not easy to get published in a journal. The information that is looked for isn’t necessarily what is popular in all of society, but what is popular and/or important in that area of study.

However, the magazines and journals can often times go hand in hand because if everyone is all of a sudden worried about child obesity then more doctors will begin to study the effect and causes of the matter. Thus, both the journal and the magazines will be talking about the same thing, but again, the journal will have more to offer on the subject.

This is important to a student for many reasons. For instance, yes Time is a popular magazine and is very credible in what they publish. However, if one is reporting on child obesity in California they are more likely to find more in-depth, accurate information in a medical journal rather Time or something like that.

To put it more simply, information in a journal is straight from the source, while information in a magazine is relayed to the reader from experts, through the writer.

More info:
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/guides/spmaterials/
http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/newper/whatIsAJournal.htm
http://lib.utsa.edu/Research/Subject/scholarlyguide.html