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Serials Digest David Walker Lupton Colorado State University Libraries

Serials Digest is designed to inform librarians about news items of general interest concerning serials publishing and marketing. Divided into subsections, Serials Digest intends to glean news items from a variety of sources and present them in both an informative and interesting manner. Comments and suggestions concerning this column should be directed to David W. Lupton, Head, Serials Department, Colorado State University Libraries, Fort Collins, CO, 80523 or phone 303-491--5911, ext. 59.

THE DIGEST The American Booksellers Association, 122 East 42nd Street, New York, New York 10017 is the publisher of American Bookseller. This monthly, which began publication S e p tember 1977, is directed at combining "practical articles on various aspects of bookselling with current industry trends." (Folio: New Magazine Report, December 1977.)

Apartment Life, American Home and House Beautiful among the five home oriented "shelter" magazines reviewed in the February 1977 issue of Bestsellers. American Photographer, a new title scheduled for p u b lication in April 1978, is aimed at the advanced amateur p h o t o grapher. The new monthly will have a newsstand cover price o f $1.50. (Advertising Age, February 20, 1978.) Art Direction magazine for May 1977 (pp.46-52) discusses the creative editorial art and design emerging from the pages o f six male "skin" magazines. Publisher Paul Carnese calls the new R.R. Bowker Co. publication Bookviews (Vol. 1, no. 1, September 1977) "somewhere between highbrow and lowbrow" for b o o k review lovers wanting something between the scholarly reviews and the wire-service offerings in many newspapers. (Advertising Age, September 5, 1-977.) An advertising campaign of radio and TV spots plus an increased supermarket display program is attempting to boost the newsstand sales of the very popular (1.8 million circulation) Consumer Reports. (Bestsellers, November 1977.) Crafts magazine is soon (April 1978) to debut as a spinoff from Profitable Craft Merchandising. To determine Where the new Crafts will fit in among the magazines, read "The A n a t o m y o f a Spinoff" in the January 1978 issue o f Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, pp.30-32,55. Datagraphs is a "magazine" for the person who has e v e r y are

thing - in 1975 it was only $1,000 per issue! And it's weekly!! With a 1970 beginning date, each issue contains detailed charts (300-700 pages) on stocks and market conditions. The several hundred subscribers are mainly economists in the United States and Europe. (National Enquirer.) Eastern Outdoors is a new hunting, fishing and camping monthly established in 1977 which covers the states o f New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, C o n necticut, Vermont and Rhode Island. F o r a short overview of other hunting and fishing magazines refer to Doug Sandhage's article "The Outdoor Markets; Big Game & Small" in the January 1977 issue of Writer's Digest, pp. 19--21,48-49. The new men's "magazine of decadent sophistication," Eros ( 1 9 7 7 ), has enraged Ralph Gnlzburg, the former publisher o f a hardbound quarterly titled Eros (1962). G i n z burg, now the publisher o f Moneysworth, claims he still owns the registered trademark to Eros. (Bestsellers, September 1977.) Does your library serve the small town reader? The tabloid Grit, "the national small-town weekly," states that it is a " g e n eral interest publication for the whole family." Heavy Metal (the adult illustrated fantasy magazine from the publishers of National Lampoon), Children's Express, and West, are three of fourteen magazines reviewed in the article "Trees Died for These" b y Paul Slansky and Jerry Lazer in the May 13, 1977 issue o f New Times (pp.55-59.) The article "John Peter on Heavy Metal" (Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Mangement, February 1978, p p . 4 4 - 4 5 ) also comments on this science fiction comic magazine. Homemaker, the official magazine of the National E x t e n sion Homemakers Council, is sold only by subscription to women who are members and friends of Extension H o m e makers Clubs. Homemaker states that it is not another general

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women's magazine - its audience is comprised o f women who are seriously involved in homemaking. To meet their needs, Homemaker, which started as a quarterly in 1977, has gone to 6 times a year with its January 1978 issue. (Advertising Age, November 7, 1977.) A distributor for Hustler magazine in Canada has been convicted in magistrate's court on a charge of distributing obscene material. The defense counsel cited as "ridiculous," however, the situation whereby one Canadian governmental agency, the customs department, allows the magazine into the country for sale while another arm o f the government cites it as obscene! (Variety, March 30, 1977.) Penthouse and Oui are not considered obscene in Canada. (Variety, July 13, 1977.) Inspiration is the title o f a new religious quarterly which was scheduled to appear on the market in January 1978. Published b y the same people who produce Hot Rod and Motor Trend, this new title intends to be the first religious magazine to rely primarily on advertising and newsstand sales ($1.95 per issue) for its revenue base (Advertising Age, December 5, 1977). See the October 1977 issue of Writer (p.47) for a brief resume o f editorial content. Mad magazine's 25tli birthday is celebrated in "The 'Mad' Generation," New York Times Magazine, July 31, 1977, pp.14-20. F o r a comparison o f Mad with Cracked and three other humor magazines see the article on pages 18-20 o f the March 1978 issue of Bestsellers titled "Humor Magazines: The Nuttier They Are, the More Kids Love 'em." Media-Chek is the title of the annual report (published in July) compiled b y Professional Market Research, Inc., 2 Penn Center Plaza, Philadelphia, Pa. 19102 on readership o f medical journals. Cost o f the huge report varies according to what sections are ordered, but runs into thousands o f dollars. (Media Decisions, April 1977.) In February 1978 the publishers o f CQ, Solid State Technology and Modern Recording launched a new electronic h o b b y magazine titled Modern Electronics. Competing with such established newsstand titles as Popular Electronics and Popular Mechanics, this newcomer intends to cater to the novice in the electronic h o b b y area. (Media Decisions, October 1977.) The National Enquirer receives so much mail that the U.S. Postal Service has graced it with its own zip code: 33464. No other magazine title in the United States can boast this achievement. (Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, March 1977.) New West and Los Angeles magazines are featured in "California's Magazine War," Time, August 29, 1976, p.68. Nova, to be pubfished by Penthouse International Limited, is scheduled as a monthly magazine debuting on the newsstand in October 1978. It is billed as "covering science fact, fiction and fantasy somewhere between Scientific American and Star Wars." (Folio. New Magazine Report, March 1978.) Nuestro is given a short notice in Time magazine for April 18, 1977 (p.52) under the heading "New Voice for L a t inos." "UFO Magazines: Gullible Travels" b y Randy Cohen analyzes the UFO magazine market, particularly the title Official UFO, in the March 1978 issue of More, pp.30-33. A short interview with Richard StoUey, managing editor o f People magazine is presented in the April 1977 issue of Bestsellers (p. 19) under the title "People: the Circulation Story." How People fares with other "people" magazines, e.g. Us, New Times, Celebrity, etc. is discussed in "The People Perspective," Newsweek, June 6, 1977, pp.89-90. Pizzazz is the title o f a new kids magazine which hit the newsstand in September 1977. With a 75 cent cover price, this publication is aimed at 10-14 year olds. The circulation battle between Playboy and Penthouse is discussed in "Merchants o f Raunchiness," Time, July 4, 1977, pp.69-72.

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A spring Target Group Index survey has determined that among Playboy's readers, female homemakers constitute 19.5% of its total audience; 14.5% o f Penthouse readers are female homemakers and 13.9% of Hustler's audience are female homemakers. Conversely, 45% o f Playgirrs readership is male! (Media Decisions, May 1977.) In March 1977 Popular Gardening Outdoors debuted as a semiannual magazine "for the millions of gardeners who go outdoors for their gardening enjoyment." (Folio." New Magazine Report, March 1977.) Quest/77, a new magazine published by the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, Pasadena, California, has run into the problem of two very different magazines with the same name. The conflict is with Quest "Canada's urban rnaga, zinc," published b y Comac Communications, Canada. (Adver, tisingAge, April 4, 1977.) Reader's Digest is sold around the world in 170 countries, in 35 editions and 13 languages to 60 million readers. The international editions carry such titles as Selection du Reader's Digest (French), Det Bedste fra Reader's Digest j (Danish), Valitut Palat koonnut Reader's Digest (Finnish) and Selezione dal Reader's Digest (Italian). (Advertising Age, June 6, 1977.) A n i n - d e p t h interview with the art director o f Rolling Stone, Roger Black, is featured in the October 1977 issue of Art Direction, pp.68-71. Although Rolling Stone may not gather any moss it has picked up Jack Ford, the son of exPresident Gerald Ford, as assistant to the publisher. (Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, April 1977.) Routes is "a stick guide to black entertainment in America and abroad" writes John P. Hayes, contributing editor of "New York Newsletter" in the April 1978 issue of Writer's Digest. Launched in October 1977, Routes is a "guide for discriminating black readers" explains its editor, David L. Vaughn. Saturday Evening Post celebrated its 250th birthday last year. F o r an account of the magazine's editorial thrust see Mary Picinski's article "Saturday Evening Live" in the January 1978 issue o f Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, pp.2225. Savvy, a recent entry (1977) in the growing list of working women's magazines, is directed toward the executive busine~ woman. Savvy considers itself to be the Vogue in its field with Working Woman equivalent to Family Circle. Editor Judith Daniels is former managing editor of New York and Village Voice. (Media Decisions, April 1977.) A one page review of Savvy appears in the April 4, 1977 issue of New York, p.43. Self, a Conde Nast publication (publishers of Mademoiselle, Vogue and Glamour) is to be a new monthly magazine "dealing with the health o f the b o d y and the mind for women of all ages." Newsstand distribution is projected for fall 1978. (Folio: New Magazine Report, January 1978.) Seventeen, Teen, Co-Ed and American Girl are the leading titles in teenage girl magazine readership. (Advertising Age, November 7, 1977.) The weekly tabloid The Star is the major competitor with the National Enquirer. F o r an update on their circulation statistics see " 'Enquirer,' 'Star' See Big Circulation Growth Ahead," Advertising Age, November 21, 1977, pp.22,100. Wonder what's on the horizon for Sunset and Southern Living magazines? John Revert and Steve Yahn tell readers of the September 26, 1977 issue of Advertising Age in their article "Sunbelt Publishing Part o f Good Life," pp.3,88,90,92. Us magazine hopes to boost its sales by approximately 50% with increased visibility at supermarket checkout stands. This location is much valued as the secret to impulse buying of mass circulation magazines that depend heavily on single copy sales (Advertising Age, September 19, 1977). Rumor has it, however, that Us is in trouble. William H. Davis, president of the New York Times Co. magazine group, denies the rumor J~ an article in the March 6, 1978 issue of Advertising Age, pp. 10,70.

The editor o f Vegetarian Times (bimonthly; $5/yr.; 10,000 circulation) estimates there are more than 4 million vegetarians in the United States. Should Vegetarian Times, or its competitor Vegetarian World (quarterly; tabloid; $2/yr.; 30,000 circulation -- mainly on newsstands), be in your library to serve this market? (Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, September, 1977.) Woman is a new digest/purse-size weekly being test marketed in select cities. This new magazine from Time I n c o r porated for the "woman on the go" may not get past the p r o totype, however, according to a recent statement by Vice President Kelso Sutton. Apparently supermarket sales fell below expectations. (Advertising Age, November 21, 1977;

August 15, 1977; October 17, 1977 and More, March 1978.) Woman Golfer is a new bimonthly newsstand title begun in July 1977 "edited for pro amateur and beginner golfing women." (Folio: New Magazine Report, August 1977.) With an April 1978 cover date, McCall's Publishing C o m pany has started a new bimonthly magazine titled Your Place_ Publisher Ray Eyes says the "New Twenties" -- men and women in the 20--29 age bracket -- will be the target market for the 13 million young men and women in this age bracket living in major metropolitan areas. (Bestsellers, December 1977.) Your Place's most serious competitor will probably be Apartment

Life.

CHANGES... American Home has ceased publication with the February 1978 issue and it will be merged with Redbook. Argosy, a men's adventure magazine, notified its 450,000 subscribers last May 1977 that it was "getting out o f the s u b scription business." This title is now available only on the newsstand. (Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, June 1977.) The popular Argosy's Hunting Manual has changed its publication frequency to quarterly and its title to Argosy Hunting, effective Fall 1977. Better Homes and Gardens has decreased its page size in an attempt to better fit supermarket racks beginning with the January 1977 issue; Playboy has eschewed total nudity on its front cover in a bid for greater acceptance, and Viva has changed its editorial content to qualify as "family reading matter." (Supermarketing, March 1977.) With Vol. 136, no. 11 (June 1977),Interiors changed title to Contract Interiors. After 15 years of publication, Coronet suspended p u b lication in mid-1977. Esquire magazine has undergone several changes with the March 1, 1978 issue: a new editor (Clay Felker, the founder of New York and New West magazines); new editorial direction ("a new kind of newsmagazine"); a more sophisticated audience ("the magazine for the new American man"); a new binding (easier-to-open saddle stitch); a new publication schedule (monthly to biweekly); a new price (from $1.50 to $1.25 per issue) and a new style (continuous reading - articles will no longer j u m p to the back o f the book). Esquire hopes to become "the greatest magazine for men pubhshed anywhere." Former Esquire editor Harold Hayes has signed on as the senior e d itorial producer for the new ABC television weekly " n e w s magazine" to be called 20/20, debuting in June 1978. Adver-rising Age comments on the new Esquire with the articles "The Heartbreak Kid o f Journalism" by James Brady (February 6, 1978, p.46); "Felker's 'Esquire' G o a l - a 'Ms.' for Mr." by Bob Donath (October 24, 1977, pp.6,122), and "March 'Esquire' Takes on Clay Felker Look," by Bernice Kanner (January 9, 1978, p.4). (Media Decisions, December 1977 and TV Guide March 11, 1978.) Effective with the first issue in 1978 Forbes has increased its publishing frequency from 24 to 26 times a year. Forbes is positioned against Fortune and Business Week in the business magazine field and the competition is discussed in "Three for the Money," Newsweek, August 1, 1977, pp.75-76. Effective January 1978 Fortune has doubled its frequency to biweekly. Readers will now pay 11% more for a year's subscription. The "new" Fortune is analyzed in former Fortune staff writer Dwight Macdonald's article " F i f t y Years o f ' F o r tune' " (More, March 1978), and discussed in "Forecast F a v o r able for ' F o r t u n e ' Frequency Facelift," Advertising Age, February 5, 1978, p.28.

When is a quarterly not a quarterly? -- when it's Gentlemen's Quarterly which is going from eight to ten issues per year in the near future! Effective with the January 1978 issue (Vol. 53, n o . l ) House & Home changed to Housing. House Beautiful has a new editor--in-chief, Doris Shaw. Ms. Shaw was formerly connected with Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales, and is bringing a new look and expanded e d i torial coverage (food, drink, decorating, building and energy conservation). Look for the new changes beginning with the February 1978 issue. (" 'House Beautiful' Blueprint: Decor and More," Advertising Age, January 9, 1978, pp.36,64.) Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine which began publication as a quarterly in 1976, has increased its frequency to bimonthly in 1978. Lady's Circle, a Lopez Publication, has been revitalized with the August 1977 issue. New features include a monthly 16 page "special pullout section" and more color pages. (Advertising Age, July 11, 1977.) Look magazine, which ceased publication October 19, 1971, will be resurrected in fall 1978 as a pictorial newsmagazine by French publisher Daniel Filipacchi. As the leading magazine publisher in France, Filipacchi Publications has also purchased Argosy, Cars and Camera 35, among other titles, from Popular Publications (Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, February 1978). Starting with its February/March 1978 issue (Vol. 3, no. 1), Mariah, a national outdoor magazine, will become bimonthly. Among major competitors in the outdoor camping and hiking field are Backpacker (which places an emphasis on nature photography) and Outside (a Rolling Stone publication). The March 13, 1978 issue o f Advertising Age (p. 127) comments on Mariah's change in publication frequency and its advertising stance. McCall'S Needlework & Crafts has increased in publication frequency from semi-annual to quarterly effective with the summer 1977 issue. As a quarterly the publisher is anticipating that 5 million copies will sell on the newsstands! (Bestsellers, April 1977.) Midnight, the leading newsweekly tabloid at supermarket c h e c k - o u t stands behind National Enquirer and Star has changed its title toMidnight Globe in late 1977. Modern Romance, billed as a "blue-collar Psychology Today," has been taken over from Dell Pubhshing by Macfadden Women's Group -- publishers of True Love, True R o mance, True Story, etc. Under Macfadden's direction Modern Romance will concern itself more "with the issues of life" service features rather than just romance. (Media Decisions, August 1977.) After 47 years of publication, Modern Screen has folded after the October 1977 issue. Competition from such weekly

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publications as People and National Enquirer apparently was too strong for this Dell Publishing Company monthly. New Dawn, begun in May 1976, hopes to increase p u b l i cation frequency from bi--monthly to monthly by the end o f 1978 if fiscal problems improve. Intended for the "first time woman - first job, first apartment, first relationship, first trip abroad," etc., New Dawn is a general service magazine for young women which includes investigative writing in its e d i torial content. (Writer's Digest, March 1978.) L'Officiel/USA, the high fashion magazine for the A m e r ican woman to whom price is not a consideration, may go from 7 to I0 issues a year in 1979 and is considering expanding its coverage to include menswear - thereby competing with Gentlemen's Quarterly, an acknowledged leader in affluent men's fashion and lifestyle interests. (Advertising Age, October 24, 1977.) Party Thyme magazine had a title change to Party before the first monthly issue was published (Vol. 1, no. 1, November 1977). The party seems to be over for Party magazine, h o w ever, as this columnist has not seen any issue on the newsstand since the charter issue! Apparently Bon Appetit says it better!! With its June 1977 issue Playgirl editor Joyce Fleming has introduced a 90% change in editorial direction which is i n t e n d ed to relate to the "real lives of real women" and provide "entertainment for women." Young (median age 27), married women are its primary readers. (Bestsellers, July 1977 and Advertising Age, February 20, 1978.) Redbook has increased its cover price to $1.25 per issue with the February 1978 issue making it the most expensive magazine in the women's general service field. (Bestsellers, February 1978.) In 1977 Sea magazine absorbed Rudder and formed four regional editions: Eastern, Western, Southern and Inland Sea. Sea is the second largest national boating magazine in the United States (behind Boating which does not have regional editions). (Media Decisions, July 1977 and SRDS, February 27, 1978.) The new editor o f Sports AfieM, David Maxey (former editor o f Psychology Today), has brought about a new editorial format beginning with the May 1977 issue. Sports AfieM is

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'N' THINGS

Want to keep up with the Carters? F o r a list o f the 37 magazines received and reviewed by the White House see either the June 1977 issue of More (page 30) or the October 1977 issue o f Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management (page 23). The visibility and impact of magazine covers should be o f as much interest to the librarian promoting use of the serials collection as it is to the publisher and newsstand vendor intent on selling their product. The September 1977 issue of More (reprinted in Bestsellers for February 1978, pp.4-17) and the October 1976 issue of Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management (pp.24-33) have articles discussing magazine covers. Did y o u know that the newsweeklies Time, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report all come out on Monday and that most people do their first reading on Wednesday and Thursday? Sports Illustrated comes out on Thursday, reporting the weekend's sports events. (Media Decisions, September 1977.) The Lee Slurzberg Research Black Omnibus Poll reports that Ebony, Jet and Essence are more widely read b y Black women than are Good Housekeeping, Better Homes & Gardens, McCall's and other high circulation women's magazines. The poll also reports that Sports Illustrated is the third ranking magazine among Black men and is more widely read than

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now directed toward the affluent outdoorsman. (Bestsellers, May 1977.) Town & Country, the monthly society magazine for the affluent (average family income o f $76,638 per year), an, nounces that while other magazines are thinking smaller in size, it is becoming bigger with the January 1978 issue - 9" x 11". (Advertising Age, October 3, 1977.) With its November 1977 issue, Travel magazine has incor_ porated Holiday. The new Travel incorporating Holiday is retaining Holiday's Guide to Fine Dining feature and adding a photography column. The new Travel/Holiday also offers four regional editions. (Media Decisions, October 1977.) True, the monthly magazine "for today's man," suspended publication in early 1977. True has been published since 1937 by Petersen Publishing Company. True Secrets is no longer following the "sin, suffer, repent syndrome" says editor Cara Sherman. Love stories, baby stories and marital conflict stories reflecting the sexual and lifestyle attitudes o f today's society are the new themes for True Secrets. (Writer, July 1977.) U.S. Camera changed frequency from an annual to quarterly in 1977. U.S. News and World Report, which advertises itself as the stodgiest of the leading newsweeklies has undergone a "cosmetic face list" with the cover of its January 9, 1978 issue. The editorial format will remain the same. (Advertising Age, January 2, 1978.) Vogue is entering the men's fashion market with an insert titled "Vogue Men" in the April and August 1978 issues. (Advertising Age, January 2, 1978.) Wine & Food, a House and Garden guide, will go from an annual (1974--77) to a semi--annual in 1978. Effective in 1978 Woman's Day increased its publication schedule to 14 times a year with a second March and an "Oct e m b e r " issue. Family Circle has followed suit also publishing 14 issues per year. (Media Decisions, October 1977.) WomenSports, begun as a m o n t h l y sports magazine for women in May 1974 by tennis star Billie Jean King, has ceased publication with its February 1978 issue.

Black Sports or Black Stars. (Media Decisions, September 1977.) Women's magazines are the fastest growing category of newsstand magazines next to "pornos," notes Media Decisions, April 1977.

Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, McCall's, Redbook and Woman's Day have been billed the "Seven Sisters" o f the women's service magazines (as opposed to women's fashion and beauty "books"). (Media Decisions, N0yember 1977.) "The Latest Gossip about Gossip Magazines" is the title o f a two page article about the likes ofRona Barrett's Gossip, Photoplay, etc. in the September 1977 issue of Bestsellers, pp.6--7. "Editors and publishers say [city] magazines are succeeding because they offer excitement and coverage of local issues not available in other media" says Alan D. Fletcher, author of the article "City Magazines Find a Niche in the Media Marketplace." F o r an interesting overview see Journalism Quarterly, Winter 1977, pp.740--743,749.) A "consumer's guide" to men's adult magazines is present~ ed on pp.94--97 of the November 1976 issue of Esquire (25 titles reviewed) and the January 1977 issue o f Hustler (2nd annual guide - 12 titles examined).

The April 1977 issue o f Writer (pp.40-42) gives a listing of 40 juvenile magazines with one or two sentence resumes of each title's editorial emphasis. Horse magazines are reviewed in the article "Horse M a r lcets" by William Brohaugh. See the August 1977 issue of Writer's Digest, pp.31-33. "Journal Glut No Bar to Newcomers," by Larry Kai Ebert, discusses the professional medical journal market in the February 13, 1978 issue (p.72) of Advertising Age. Glamour and Mademoiselle, Essence and Ms., Viva and y,,~laygirl are among the titles discussed in John Peter's essay omen's Magazines: A Survey of the Field" in the April 1977 issue of Folio." The Magazine for Magazine Management, pp.74-79. Seven women's magazines are also compared and discussed in the January 1977 issue of Bestsellers (pp.8-9, 12), and Nancy Cooper examines the audiences and philosophy of several feminist titles (e.g. Off Our Backs and Women: A Journal of Liberation) in her article "Feminist Periodicals," Mass Comm Review, Summer 1976, pp.15-23. Of 200 some new newsstand titles launched since 1976, Media Decisions picked 52 most likely to make it. F o r details see the December 1977 issue of Media Decisions, pp.64--65, 150-154. "Quartet of Newcomers," Time, June 20, 1977, p.20 gives a brief report on Horizon, Outside, Quest/77 and Us. Local tourist magazines for the vacationer in Hawaii are the subject o f "Donnybrook at the Newsstands" in Hawaii Business, April 1977, pp.46,51-52,54,56. Magazines with "class" are the subject o f John Peter's article "A Touch of Class" in the January 1978 issue ( p p . 3 3 38) of Folio: The Magazine of Magazine Management. Twelve "upscale" titles are illustrated - do you have them in your library? An article in Advertising Age for August 22, 1977 (p.3) on the media in 1990 has this to say about magazines: "They will become more specialized than ever as a result of the following factors - higher levels o f education, greater leisure time, p r o liferation o f leisure interests and growing affluence . . Magazines are going to become more probing, more personal, more colorful and still delivering that piece of information . . . that article . . . that surprise that we didn't know we wanted to read until it showed up in our favorite publication." James B. Kobak discusses life cycles as they relate to

magazines in "A Magazine's Life Cycle and Its Profits," Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, October 1976, p p . 4 8 55. Kobak states that a life span of 40 years is not abnormal and indeed may be short for a successful magazine. "The Magazine Buying Habits o f People" is the title o f an eleven page article in the February 1977 issue of Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management (pp.73-83). Magazine buying, as opposed to magazine reading, is the focus of this study. Bestsellers explains that mass market consumer newsstand magazines are generally classified into two categories: ABC magazines and n o n - A B C magazines. ABC magazines are those titles which submit their circulation data to the Audit Bureau of Circulation and depend heavily on advertising revenue. N o n ABC titles do not submit circulation figures for audit and derive most of their revenue from retail newsstand sales. (Bestsellers, August 1976.) The December 1977 issue of Media Decisions (pp.92,96) reports that Simmons and TGI (Target Group Index) are the two major syndicated services measuring magazine audience readership for the advertising community. F o r commentary on how neither of these studies agrees with the other read John Meskil's guest report titled "Result o f TGI/Simmons Differences: Murky Waters Become Muddier." Media Decisions for November 1977 states that "today's heavy magazines are reaching the 'cross--over point' where postage costs are greater than alternate delivery costs. The past five issues of Better Homes & Gardens already reached that point." It is expected that more magazines will turn to private deliveries in metropolitan cities, probably utilizing local n e w s paper's deliveries. George Rosenkranc, media supervisor at J. Walter Thomp-son Co., New York, states in the January 1977 issue of Media Decisions that there "is a profound change in the entire philosophy of publishing. Magazines used to be published primarily for their advertising appeal . . . and as consumer products secondarily . . . But slowly it's becoming a new ball game. The reader has been asked to pay up and he is . . . Perhaps magazines as a consumer product have been underpriced for far too many years." Bestsellers confirms that in spite o f i n creasing cover prices, however, readers are staying with their favorite publications. (Bestsellers, July 1976.)

TESTIMONIALS The publishers of American Baby claim that more mothers read American Baby than any other baby magazine; or, for that matter, than they read Parents" magazine, Redbook, and Ladies Home Journal! (SRDS, February 27, 1978.) Architectural Digest claims to reach some o f the most affluent audiences o f any magazine. The average income o f subscribers and newsstand readers (316,000 paid circulation) is $61,000. (SRDS, February 27, 1978.) Of the spate o f magazines in the CB market, CB Radio/S9 announces that it is the oldest and largest monthly publication in the field, while its major competitor, CB Magazine, has the largest circulation. (SRDS, February 27, 1978.) The publisher o f Cleveland Magazine has noted that a Void exists in the city magazine universe in Detroit and intends to correct the situation in spring 1978. Even Larry Flynt, publisher o f Hustler, has gotten into the city/regional magazine field with his soon to debut Ohio magazine "for the entire state." (Media Decisions, November 1977.) Creem bills itself as "America's only rock 'n' roll m a g a zine," ranking number 2 as an ABC audited music publication behind Rolling Stone. F o r an update on rock magazines see the

two page article in the July 1977 issue o f Bestsellers, ppl2-13. Cosmopolitan claims that out o f the 9 leading fashion or women's magazines, more single women and women between the ages o f 18--34 read Cosmopolitan than read Glamour, Mademoiselle or R edbook. (Media Decisions, January 1978.) Horizon, the elegant hard cover quarterly, went monthly and soft cover with its September 1977 issue. Horizon is now billing itself as "the first city magazine that's countrywide." (Advertising Age, July 25, 1977.) Modern Bride claims that 87% o f all first marriage brides read a bridal magazine and that 8 out of 10 read Modern Bride. (Media Decisions, August 1977.) The principal reader o f Mother Earth News is a 32 year old male, well educated, earning an average income of $18,000. He is probably a rural property owner. A Mother Earth News ad claims that 73% o f the readers do not read Organic Gardening & Farming and 86% do not read Prevention magazine. (AdvertisingAge, July 11, 1977.) In June 1977 Nashville Gospel was launched as a publication dedicated to the Christian lifestyle, using gospel and country music for a backdrop. Billed as both "the born again

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be the leader in newsstand sales. Its leading newsstand c o r n p e t . itor, Sports Afield is claimed to have "left the field," all--' itself with National Geographic Smithsonian Scientifi~ z~lalg ican and Architectural Digest via its radical change in format" The third title in this national outdoor trilogy, Field and " alleged to be a " general magazine ' for men " along ~vith Stream is

magazine" and "America's new family magazine," its publisher sees a field of readers among the 20 million Christians who live in America's Bible Belt. (Bestsellers, Novermber 1977.) National Geographic says that it is the third largest m a g a zine in the world, with 21 million readers in the United States alone. (Media Decisions, December 1977.) New Woman and Working Woman are both directed p r i marily at the woman who works either outside the home or as a career. New Woman, however, declares that it has the highest readership among working women. Working Woman is in f i nancial straits with its former publishers, W W Publications, having filed for bankruptcy. (Advertising Age, January 2, 1978 and SRDS, February 27, 1978.) Ladies Home Journal is countering these relatively new entrants into the women's magazine field b y claiming that the Journal "was the first magazine to create a column - 'The Working Woman' - just for her" some six years ago. (Advertising Age, October 24, 1977.) In the outdoor sportsmen's market Outdoor Life claims to

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Playboy, Penthouse, Newsweek and Time! (Media Decisions, April 1977.)

Penthouse, the international magazine for men, elaira~ that their newsstand sales are bigger than all of the following titles combined." Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report New Times, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, New York, New Yorker', Psychology Today, Gallery, Oui, and Gentlemen's ~duarterly! (Bestsellers, November 1977.) Viva magazine declares that the Viva reader "leads the l i f e . . , the Cosmo girl reads about." Viva women have attend, ed college, are unmarried, employed and young (18--34), (Advertising Age, December 19, 1977.)

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pierian press AN 0NYRODUCTUON TO P A R T I: Divided the development of services, directories, topics as translation

PERIODICAL BaBLIOGRAPHY

b y P a u l E. V e s e n y i

into eight chapters, this section offers a chronological, historical survey of periodical bibliographies of all types, including indexing and abstracting union lists, and other miscellaneous bibliographies. Also covered are such centers, and efforts toward the standardization of periodicals.

P A R T I1: International in scope, this is an annotated alphabetical listing of over 400 periodical bibliographies, past and present, primarily in the social sciences and humanities but including important publications in science and technology. Entries include publisher, date(s), frequency, a record of cumulations and indexes associated with the title, language(s), and a brief description. Includes an Index to Part I and a Subject Guide to Part II. ISBN 0 - 8 7 6 5 0 - 0 4 5 - 9 LC 7 4 - 1 9 7 7 7 $12.95

5000 74

washtenaw

SERIALS REVIEW

July/September1978

ann arbor, michigan 4 8 1 0 4