Synopses & Reviews
From finding and cultivating authors to effectively incorporating art and design, from the importance of fact checking and copyediting to the critical relationship between advertising dollars and content, this anthology provides a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the making of a successful and influential magazine. It also engages with the industry's most pressing issues, such as the future of magazines in a digital environment and the increasing pressure of business interests on editorial decisions, acting as both a how-to and a how-to-be guide for a variety of readers.
Top editors, writers, art directors, and publishers from such magazines as Gourmet, The New Yorker, The New Republic, Elle, and Harper's speak on developing great talent; obtaining an entry level position that can be parlayed into a masthead title; managing the interests (and potential conflicts) of various departments; and handling the requests of advertisers. They explore the creative strategies and practical mechanics of writing for magazines and the role of opinion in shaping or enhancing editorial content. One essay directly confronts the inherent strengths and weaknesses of women's magazines, while Felix Dennis recounts creating Maxim. In other essays, Barbara Wallraff speaks about the famed copyediting department at The Atlantic while Ruth Reichl and Tina Brown speculate on the many changes the magazine industry has undergone in the past two decades. An anthology full of intimate reflections and surprising revelations, this volume holds immense value for current editors and practicing journalists, as well as for students of culture and journalism, and it holds wide appeal for anyone hoping to peek between the lines of their favorite magazines.
Synopsis
In this entertaining anthology, editors, writers, art directors, and publishers from such magazines as Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The New Republic, Elle, and Harper's draw on their varied, colorful experiences to explore a range of issues concerning their profession. Combining anecdotes with expert analysis, these leading industry insiders speak on writing and editing articles, developing great talent, effectively incorporating art and design, and the critical relationship between advertising dollars and content. They emphasize the importance of fact checking and copyediting; share insight into managing the interests (and potential conflicts) of various departments; explain how to parlay an entry-level position into a masthead title; and weigh the increasing influence of business interests on editorial decisions. In addition to providing a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the making of successful and influential magazines, these contributors address the future of magazines in a digital environment and the ongoing importance of magazine journalism. Full of intimate reflections and surprising revelations, The Art of Making Magazines is both a how-to and a how-to-be guide for editors, journalists, students, and anyone hoping for a rare peek between the lines of their favorite magazines. The chapters are based on talks delivered as part of the George Delacorte Lecture Series at the Columbia School of Journalism.
Essays include: -Talking About Writing for Magazines (Which One Shouldn't Do)- by John Gregory Dunne; -Magazine Editing Then and Now- by Ruth Reichl; -How to Become the Editor in Chief of Your Favorite Women's Magazine- by Roberta Myers; -Editing a Thought-Leader Magazine- by Michael Kelly; -Fact-Checking at The New Yorker- by Peter Canby; -A Magazine Needs Copyeditors Because....- by Barbara Walraff; -How to Talk to the Art Director- by Chris Dixon; -Three Weddings and a Funeral- by Tina Brown; -The Simpler the Idea, the Better- by Peter W. Kaplan; -The Publisher's Role: Crusading Defender of the First Amendment or Advertising Salesman?- by John R. MacArthur; -Editing Books Versus Editing Magazines- by Robert Gottlieb; and -The Reader Is King- by Felix Dennis