The Art of Making Magazines

June 4, 2012
Bold, brash, and on target on the compelling issues of the magazine industry in a digital age, this slight collection of observations by editors and scribes, delivered as part of the recent Delacorte lecture series at Columbia University’s School of Journalism, is the creation of Navasky, the former acclaimed Nation editor, and Cornog, the dean of the School of Communication at Hofstra University. Navasky and Cornog wisely chose a variety of distinctive voices in the business, including John Gregory Dunne, Tina Brown, Ruth Reichl, Michael Kelly, John R. MacArthur, and Robert Gottlieb. Some of the topics presented by the veterans are cultivating author talent, selecting timely topics, keeping art and design on the cutting edge, as well as the conflict between business interests and editorial designs, and the future of magazines in the computer age. Pay attention to critic and essayist Dunne’s lively take on trendsetting writing styles, Reichl’s candid chronicle of her struggles during her editorial reign at Gourmet magazine, Kelly’s savvy comments about choosing the identity of a magazine, and Harper’s publisher MacArthur’s tough tirade on the clash between ad revenue and editorial content. This is a book not to be missed by working editors and journalists, print newbies, and magazine junkies.

August 1, 2012

The sheer complexity of what it takes to create an issue of a magazine is evidenced by the scope and variety of these lectures compiled by Navasky (George T. Delacorte Professor in Magazine Journalism, Columbia Journalism Sch.; A Matter of Opinion) and Cornog (dean, Sch. of Communication, Hofstra Univ.; The Power and the Story: How the Crafted Presidential Narrative Has Determined Political Success from George Washington to George W. Bush). These talks, given to Columbia University journalism graduate students over the past decade, range from overview pieces on the purpose of magazines to detailed descriptions of the roles of various magazine staffers. Novelist and essayist John Gregory Dunne (d. 2003) opens the collection with an eloquent piece arguing that magazine journalism should explore the "why" of newsworthy events, which he illustrates with anecdotes from his career. Tina Brown shares stories of her successes and failures as an editor. An interview with art director Chris Dixon, formerly of New York magazine and currently of Vanity Fair, illuminates how visuals support magazine texts. VERDICT These 12 essays will appeal to professionals as well as sophisticated readers interested in the nuts and bolts of how magazines are put together. However, some of the pieces seem dated, and too little attention is paid to changing economics and the impact of new formats on the future of magazines.--Judy Solberg, Seattle Univ. Lib.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.