MAGAZINE PROTOTYPE CREATION
Due date: May 14
Due date: May 14
Your group will be developing a prototype for a new magazine launch. The main goal of the prototype is to graphically represent the philosophy and tone of your new magazine. The magazine prototype will be at least 72 pages, with about a 60:40 ad-editorial ratio. Although you do not have to create the advertisements, they must fit the focus of your magazine, and you should substantiate that in the business plan.
Every prototype must have:
1. Editor’s Letter. Written and designed.
2. Cover. Design your logo, cover art, and cover lines to be consistent with your magazine’s philosophy and articles within.
3. Table of Contents. The table of contents should match all the departments and articles. Article titles should be consistent with cover lines and with interior pages.
4. Departments. Include several departments, each with its own title design, subtitles, subheads, pull-quotes, and captions as needed.
5. Articles. Each group member is responsible for writing at least 2 articles. Some articles may be short sidebars, specialty columns, in-depth cutlines, or lists. As your magazine develops, there may not be space for all articles. If that is the case, the individual whose article is not included should attach it to his or her final individual report.
6. Illustration & Design. The photos, illustrations, and design should all fit the overall philosophy of the magazine. The magazine should have several longer articles that are tied to the magazine’s focus and presented with representative photos or illustrations and design.
7. A Media Kit and Business Plan.
INDIVIDUAL REPORT, which will be due the last day of class with the final magazine.
• A 250- to 500-word report about your activities as a group member.
• Your 2 “articles,” whether they were used or not. Each story will have a detailed source list that will be handed in with it. (That means people’s names with phone numbers/emails, web sites, etc.) Within the articles, all sources should be properly attributed.
• Each group member will be given an evaluation form to evaluate each group member. Those evaluations will be averaged and figure into the individual grade.
General Information about Your Magazine
You should assume that you have enough money to do a magazine start-up. Your publication may be either a consumer or specialized business/trade magazine. You should be thinking about all these factors, and answer them in your business plan due March 28.
1. Title. What is the working title? It should be succinct, clear, descriptive, and specific. Make sure it doesn’t duplicate any other magazine title, i.e. Google it. Why is your magazine title appropriate for your audience?
2. Frequency. With what frequency will your magazine be issued (quarterly, monthly, weekly, etc.)? Why did you choose this frequency?
3. Price. What is the price of your magazine, on the newsstand (cover price) and for a one-year subscription? How did you arrive at that price? Compare your price to that of your competitors, as well as other magazines.
4. Number of pages per issue. What is the average total number of pages per issue?
5. Circulation. What kind of circulation do you expect to get? Provide a viable figure based on your research into the topic and the audience. What do you estimate to be the final circulation for your magazine for the first year? Is there room for circulation growth?
6. Distribution. Will your magazine be sold primarily by subscription, by single copy on newsstands, or by a mix of both? Will your circulation be controlled (if you are proposing a specialized business/trade magazine)?
7. Editorial profile statement. Write an editorial profile statement – a one-paragraph statement of what the magazine is all about, whom it is for, and what it typically contains. (After answering all these questions, you should be able to summarize your magazine’s thrust, purpose, and focus. See SRDS for samples of editorial profile statements.)
Magazine concept/Need for the Magazine
Due: Feb. 29
As a group decide the answers to the following questions. At this point, your answers can be brief, but you should expand upon them as you develop the Media Kit that will accompany your magazine. Type your answers. Keep a copy of this information on disk, so you can fold it into your later Media Kit.
1. Audience. What kind of readers will the magazine appeal to? Discuss your target audience in terms of demographics (age, gender, income, education, occupation) and psychographics (social characteristics and interests). You must have a clear picture of the typical reader for the general subject matter, the field, or the market that your magazine will serve. What is the purpose of your magazine in relationship to its audience?
How large is the magazine’s universe of readers? Check such references as the World Almanac, U.S. Fact Book (census data), or Directory of Associations.
What share of the universe can you reasonably expect to secure as the audience of this magazine? In other words, what percentage of readers do you estimate your magazine would attract? (The rule of thumb is to plan for 2 percent of the total number of people in the country to be in your interest area.)
What social, economic, cultural, or other trends can you cite to demonstrate the need for the magazine? What studies can you cite (marketing, consumer buying, etc.) to support the need for your magazine?
2. Competition. What competition is there in the field for your audience now? Which magazines are direct competitors and which are peripheral competitors? List them, with a brief one-line summary of their editorial profile, and include current circulation. Check Writer’s Market and SRDS for data, and check the newsstands for any new magazines. Find the media kits for competitor magazines online. This will give you data to study and compare.
3. Identity. Why does your magazine meet the needs of your intended audience more than competitors do? What is your magazine’s unique identity? What is its niche? Explain how your magazine does the job differently or better than other competing publications. Analyze the direct competitor, whether direct or peripheral, in terms of the other magazine’s approach, audience, history, etc. Use Writer’s Market, SRDS, and other market directories, as well as FOLIO for information.
4. Advertising. Who are your potential advertisers? List at least 10 companies or product manufacturers most likely to buy space in your magazine because they want to reach your audience and be associated with your editorial content. Include at least five different brand names from five different general advertising categories. Make sure your audience matches your advertisers.
Tentative Magazine concept, philosophy & formula
Due: Feb. 29
Revised due: March7
1. Title. What is the working title? It should be succinct, clear, descriptive, and specific. Make sure it doesn’t duplicate any other magazine title. Why is your magazine title appropriate for your audience?
2. Editorial Philosophy. Explain exactly what the magazine is intended to do, what areas of interest it covers, and how it will approach those interests. How do you intend to serve your readers through the editorial content of your magazine? Try to be as specific as possible. If you propose a travel magazine, what specific issues will be covered? Will it be photo-heavy or more dependent on type? Will the magazine be deadly serious, serious but light, or fun loving?
3. Editorial Content. What kind of features will your magazine contain? What specific topics will the features cover and how will the features be approached? How long will the articles be? Will you include fiction? Begin a list of 5 potential articles for the issue by title, with potential illustrations. List additional articles that might go into subsequent issues. Keep in mind that there must be enough editorial possibilities for the magazine to last more than a single year or to outlast a fad that may be hot now. What departments will you incorporate into the magazine? Explain the purpose and/or content of at least 5 departments that would appear each month.
4. Editorial Style. In what style will the article be written? Anecdotal? Intellectual? Investigative? Objective? Subjective? How-to-do-it?
Staffing the Magazine
Due: Feb. 29
From the following list of typical magazine jobs, assign your group members to specific jobs. The Editor-in-chief will be the leader of the group, so select someone with good leadership and organization skills. Group members may hold more than one job. With your list of assigned staff positions, also turn in a paragraph or two about what you are thinking about for your magazine’s concept/focus. Type the list and the philosophy/formula paragraphs. (See page 164 in Magazine Publishing for other jobs titles you may use.)
Magazine job titles:
Editor-in-chief – oversees all aspects of the magazine to make sure deadlines are met and the project is progressing; makes sure editorial philosophy is maintained throughout magazine
Senior Editors/Section Editors – oversee article assignments; make sure they fit with magazine’s concept, suggest packaging of features
Art Director/Creative Director – does layout and design; finds appropriate typeface; creates cover. (This person should know InDesign).
Business Manager – oversees business plan; helps develop final media kit
Advertising Manager – oversees ad sales and finding ads that fit focus of magazine; helps develop final media kit
Research director – researches magazine’s competitors, audience demographics, title effectiveness; helps develop final media kit
Photo Editor – assigns photos, as well as takes photos. Writes captions; works with other editors to determine best illustrations for features
Copy editors – read all printed material in the magazine to correct errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and facts; trim articles when needed; write headlines in consultation with Art Director and Senior Editors.
Staff Writers – write the long features that will anchor the magazine
Photographers – take photos, write captions
Note 1: Don’t forget that each group member must contribute 2 articles to the magazine, no matter what his/her job title is.
Note 2: Group members may change jobs later in the semester, but please inform your instructor of staff changes.
