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The Art of Making Magazines: On Being an Editor and Other Views from the Industry (Columbia Journalism Review Books) Kindle Edition

4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 26 ratings

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

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Editorial Reviews

Review

A useful, even timely collection... ― Kirkus Reviews

Bold, brash, and on target... This is a book not to be missed by working editors and journalists, print newbies and magazine junkies. ―
Publishers Weekly

...a diverse collection of intelligent and inspiring reads that would seem to be a must for anyone interested in the inner-workings of editorial offices. ―
de Cinema de Cuir

This delightfully eclectic collection is full of exceptional gems, of value to anyone interested in magazines, journalism, and good editing and writing. -- Tom Goldstein, Former dean, journalism schools at Columbia and Berkeley

These 12 essays will appeal to professionals as well as sophisticated readers interested in the nuts and bolts of how magazines are put together. ―
Library Journal

About the Author

Victor S. Navasky, editor of The Nation from 1978, became editorial director and publisher in 1995 and is now its publisher emeritus. He is the George Delacorte Professor of Magazine Journalism at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, where he directs the Delacorte Center of Magazines and chairs the Columbia Journalism Review. He is the author of Kennedy Justice; Naming Names, which won a National Book Award; and A Matter of Opinion, which won the George Polk Book Award.

Evan Cornog is dean of the School of Communication at Hofstra University and a former publisher of the
Columbia Journalism Review. He is the author of three books of political history and served as press secretary to New York Mayor Edward I. Koch. He has worked on the editorial staffs of The New Yorker and Wigwag Magazines and has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The American Scholar, and Columbia Journalism Review.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008Z1Q5K0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Columbia University Press (September 5, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 5, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 688 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 196 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0231131372
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 26 ratings

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
26 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2014
I working my way up the magazine publishing industry, and I need all the help I can get to fix how publishing is like where I'm from. I learned a lot from these editors and writers. I was not bored one bit! Can we have more of these types of books available under the media studies category, please?
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2014
Making a magazine it is really and art.
After reading this book, you get a really, really really sense of what it takes to make a magazine.
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2013
Excellent essays about all aspects of the craft, from the best in the business. Highly recommended to those in the profession, or to anyone interested in learning about the process.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2017
Great read. Great resource. #Yes
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2012
This short book (200 pages) is a collection of lectures that were given at the Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism over the past decade on the topic of magazines. The guest lecturers are editors, publishers, writers, a copy editor, a fact checker, and an art director. Many of them worked at several jobs over their careers, for different magazines. Some have also written books and worked for newspapers, so they are able to compare the various types of media.

As a non-professional, purely amateur reader of magazines, I found it all accessible and entertaining. Normally when I read a non-fiction anthology, I end up reading about half the entries, maybe two thirds in an unusually good collection. In this volume, I finished all but one or two.

I found the most interesting lectures near the front of the book, including the one by Ruth Reichl, who talked about her career writing about food for magazines and newspapers, then editing magazines. Roberta Myers' talk about her climb up the ladder in women's mags was also entertaining, as was Michael Kelly's story about writing a thoughtful but depressing profile for Playboy and having to rewrite it completely to fit the upbeat viewpoint of the magazine. Peter Canby and Barbara Walraff, a fact checker and a copy editor, were enlightening about their jobs. Tina Brown and Felix Dennis, both publishing big shots, were informative but so full of themselves that it was touch and go whether I'd stick with them to the end.

How a magazine differs from a newspaper is a recurring theme in some of the lectures, and it is a difference I hadn't thought about before reading this book. While newspapers generally aim to inform, magazines are more of an echo chamber, reinforcing a certain viewpoint or lifestyle the reader has. Of course, this isn't a hard and fast rule, but in general, you'll be more comfortable reading your favorite magazines, but you'll learn more from a newspaper.

No doubt students of journalism will be able to grab some pearls of wisdom from these lectures, but even those of us who only consume can learn a bit about the make-up and the nature of magazines. I am sure I will be reading magazines more analytically and perhaps more skeptically now.

(This review is based on a review copy received from NetGalley.)
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2014
About two thirds of the articles contained here are great. The others read a bit like old hacks pontificating to young wannabe hacks. But those two thirds are well worth the effort and I will go back to parts of them again and again for their key insights.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2014
As a collection of lectures by insiders about the magazine publishing industry, I found them to be interesting and informative. If your objective is to work in, publish in or just get more information about this area, "The Art" is a good starting point.
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2013
I loved this series of essays by all different magazine types. It was fascinating to get an insider view of the magazine industry, its past and its future, in an entertaining and informative way. I thought it might be a bit dull, but I was pleasantly surprised by it's readability.

Top reviews from other countries

MissScribble
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2016
Fast and efficient
sisi18
5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2015
Very helpful chapters written by experts in their fields

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