General Magazines
The first gentlemans magazine was published in 1731. Due to the lack of technology at the time, all the images in the magazine were hand-drawn. It was not until 1955 Marilyn was published, this was the first magazine aimed entirely at teenagers. In the 1960’s a magazine titles Nova was published. While these magazines were very far from their modern counterparts, the conventions of Vogue in 1895 were very similar to the conventions that the magazine has nowadays, for example ladies (however they were drawn and not digital images) and articles on royalty. Also women still had the same role in society. In 1955, Marylyn was published. It contained photos of celebrity and articles for women on how to get a man. Later, in the 1960’s there was a change in womens lives and their role in society. At this time, mens magazines were usually niche magazines such as car or football magazines. In 1986, Arena magazine was published. Arena was a general lifestyle magazine for men. To begin with, men were featured on the cover but later the publisher realised that women on the front covers would generate more sales. It was very rare to see a person of an ethnic minority on the cover of a magazine. The women on the cover would typically be white, slim and young with perfect skin and teeth. This changed in 1996 when Naomi Campbell became the first black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue. However, health and fitness magazines had been featuring black models before.
NME
When NME (New Musical Express) was first published it was owned by IPC and had a non-glossy, tabloid format. Journalists for NME would write about pop music and be kind towards artists and bands. Morris Kin was the first editor of NME, which was the first magazine to feature the singles chart. NME was still massive in the 60’s and retained a cosy relationship with bands. In 1969, the audience for NME had changed with soft drug turning into hard drugs and ‘peace and love’ turning to violence. NME was able to win back its readers with a spiky attitude and harsh writing. Later, Alan Smith joined as editor and by 1973 NME had a 300,000 circulation. At this time gonzo journalism was standard. Nick Kent stated that he wanted to write like Lester Bangs. He also said that he once wrote copy on toilet paper in order to get it in on time. Charles Shaar Murray wrote for OZ before moving to NMW. He was part of a influx of writers that wrote in a similar style to Rolling Stone magazine i.e loud, fast and funny. A new uncluttered cover was brought in by Nick Logan, who began as an editor aged 26. He also made the paper more ‘hip’ and a questioning proposition. Large images were used because the paper was printed on rubbish paper but bigger images worked well on it. In 1976 Punk came around, which led to an advert for ‘two young, hip gunslingers’ to cover the Punk scene. This role was taken on by journalists Julie Birchill and Tony Parsons, who changed the direction and tone of the paper. When interviewing a band, they would either highly praise them or be highly critical. The NME was the only place to find out about punk, it couldn’t be seen in other papers, on the tv or even live performances. The paper also gained a odd Politically Correct attitude, The Stranglers song Peaches on the Beaches didn’t impress Birchill and Generation X were perceived as being too clean. Later, Neil Spencer redesigned the paper and Tony Parsons and Julie Birchill moved out but were still just about writing for the paper. When Kent, McDonald, Birchill and Parsons left new talent needed to be brought in. Editor Nick Logan left to create Smash Hits and later the Face magazine. Smash Hits covered pop music while the Face covered the new romantic scene. This left the NME bemused and not knowing who they were speaking to any more. There was a decline in NME readers. Paul Morley wrote about Manchester Fall, Buzzcockss and New Order. Morley and Penman were a new double act, like Kent and Charles Shaar Murray, and Burchill and Parsons before them. The NME had become deeply political and intellectual. The form and the writing style of what was written was deemed very important. Also, philosophy and culture was covered. There was an article about youth suicide which was very daring and audacious. Although it was only aimed at a small audience, it meant a lot to the small audience. No other magazine or newspaper which was aimed at a youth market could do this. In the mid 80’s there was Thatcher’s yuppie and laddy culture. The NME supported red wedge and labour movements. IPC were very unhappy about the political content. After he had been there for 7 years, Spencer left NME. Hip-Hop wars started at the NME, many people believed that hip-hop was just a fad and thought that there shouldn’t be black artist on the front cover when NME was aimed at a white audience
The first gentlemans magazine was published in 1731. Due to the lack of technology at the time, all the images in the magazine were hand-drawn. It was not until 1955 Marilyn was published, this was the first magazine aimed entirely at teenagers. In the 1960’s a magazine titles Nova was published. While these magazines were very far from their modern counterparts, the conventions of Vogue in 1895 were very similar to the conventions that the magazine has nowadays, for example ladies (however they were drawn and not digital images) and articles on royalty. Also women still had the same role in society. In 1955, Marylyn was published. It contained photos of celebrity and articles for women on how to get a man. Later, in the 1960’s there was a change in womens lives and their role in society. At this time, mens magazines were usually niche magazines such as car or football magazines. In 1986, Arena magazine was published. Arena was a general lifestyle magazine for men. To begin with, men were featured on the cover but later the publisher realised that women on the front covers would generate more sales. It was very rare to see a person of an ethnic minority on the cover of a magazine. The women on the cover would typically be white, slim and young with perfect skin and teeth. This changed in 1996 when Naomi Campbell became the first black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue. However, health and fitness magazines had been featuring black models before.
NME
When NME (New Musical Express) was first published it was owned by IPC and had a non-glossy, tabloid format. Journalists for NME would write about pop music and be kind towards artists and bands. Morris Kin was the first editor of NME, which was the first magazine to feature the singles chart. NME was still massive in the 60’s and retained a cosy relationship with bands. In 1969, the audience for NME had changed with soft drug turning into hard drugs and ‘peace and love’ turning to violence. NME was able to win back its readers with a spiky attitude and harsh writing. Later, Alan Smith joined as editor and by 1973 NME had a 300,000 circulation. At this time gonzo journalism was standard. Nick Kent stated that he wanted to write like Lester Bangs. He also said that he once wrote copy on toilet paper in order to get it in on time. Charles Shaar Murray wrote for OZ before moving to NMW. He was part of a influx of writers that wrote in a similar style to Rolling Stone magazine i.e loud, fast and funny. A new uncluttered cover was brought in by Nick Logan, who began as an editor aged 26. He also made the paper more ‘hip’ and a questioning proposition. Large images were used because the paper was printed on rubbish paper but bigger images worked well on it. In 1976 Punk came around, which led to an advert for ‘two young, hip gunslingers’ to cover the Punk scene. This role was taken on by journalists Julie Birchill and Tony Parsons, who changed the direction and tone of the paper. When interviewing a band, they would either highly praise them or be highly critical. The NME was the only place to find out about punk, it couldn’t be seen in other papers, on the tv or even live performances. The paper also gained a odd Politically Correct attitude, The Stranglers song Peaches on the Beaches didn’t impress Birchill and Generation X were perceived as being too clean. Later, Neil Spencer redesigned the paper and Tony Parsons and Julie Birchill moved out but were still just about writing for the paper. When Kent, McDonald, Birchill and Parsons left new talent needed to be brought in. Editor Nick Logan left to create Smash Hits and later the Face magazine. Smash Hits covered pop music while the Face covered the new romantic scene. This left the NME bemused and not knowing who they were speaking to any more. There was a decline in NME readers. Paul Morley wrote about Manchester Fall, Buzzcockss and New Order. Morley and Penman were a new double act, like Kent and Charles Shaar Murray, and Burchill and Parsons before them. The NME had become deeply political and intellectual. The form and the writing style of what was written was deemed very important. Also, philosophy and culture was covered. There was an article about youth suicide which was very daring and audacious. Although it was only aimed at a small audience, it meant a lot to the small audience. No other magazine or newspaper which was aimed at a youth market could do this. In the mid 80’s there was Thatcher’s yuppie and laddy culture. The NME supported red wedge and labour movements. IPC were very unhappy about the political content. After he had been there for 7 years, Spencer left NME. Hip-Hop wars started at the NME, many people believed that hip-hop was just a fad and thought that there shouldn’t be black artist on the front cover when NME was aimed at a white audience
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