Magazines
9/18/14
On Friday September 12th we had a lecture/discussion on magazines. We learned where they originated and how they were originally meant for a general audience (see below). Today magazine companies want to sell to a certain narrow audience, such as sports magazines (who are sold to sports fanatics) and gossip magazines (which are being bought by teenage girls or people who want to be updated on what celebrities are doing), etc. When I think of magazines I either think of gossip magazines, sports magazines or National Geographic.
Having this discussion changed my perspective on the history of magazines. For example, the first magazine was created by Benjamin Franklin in 1741 and it was titled General Magazine. This magazine was for the general audience and included things for each age, gender, interests etc. So I learned about this change of magazine content from general to specific (narrow) audiences.
Throughout the first 250 years of magazine history, many magazines were created. One was The Saturday Evening Post which was created in 1821.
I also learned that Franklin pretty much invented everything around that era. I would have liked to learn what else he invented, especially in the realm of journalism. I think we could have been shown more examples of magazines and how they went from a general audience to a more specific audience. For example, Mr. Miller could have had slides/photos of the old magazines compared to the new ones. We spoke about Norman Rockwell, but where were the photos of Norman Rockwell? I don't exactly remember if Mr. Miller spoke to us about the significance of Rockwell on the American way of thinking (i.e, the "American Dream" or "mainstream" America). But that would have been good.
Having this discussion changed my perspective on the history of magazines. For example, the first magazine was created by Benjamin Franklin in 1741 and it was titled General Magazine. This magazine was for the general audience and included things for each age, gender, interests etc. So I learned about this change of magazine content from general to specific (narrow) audiences.
Throughout the first 250 years of magazine history, many magazines were created. One was The Saturday Evening Post which was created in 1821.
I also learned that Franklin pretty much invented everything around that era. I would have liked to learn what else he invented, especially in the realm of journalism. I think we could have been shown more examples of magazines and how they went from a general audience to a more specific audience. For example, Mr. Miller could have had slides/photos of the old magazines compared to the new ones. We spoke about Norman Rockwell, but where were the photos of Norman Rockwell? I don't exactly remember if Mr. Miller spoke to us about the significance of Rockwell on the American way of thinking (i.e, the "American Dream" or "mainstream" America). But that would have been good.
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