A magazine is a
periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of
content. They are generally financed by
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
,
purchase price, prepaid
subscriptions
The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, an ...
, or by a combination of the three.
Definition
In the technical sense a ''
journal'' has continuous pagination throughout a volume. Thus ''
Business Week'', which starts each issue anew with page one, is a magazine, but the ''
Journal of Business Communication
The ''International Journal of Business Communication'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of business communication. The editors-in-chief are Jacqueline and Milton Mayfield ( Texas A&M International University). It ...
'', which continues the same sequence of pagination throughout the coterminous year, is a journal. Some professional or
trade publications are also
peer-reviewed
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
, for example the ''
Journal of Accountancy''. Non-peer-reviewed academic or professional publications are generally ''professional magazines''. That a publication calls itself a ''journal'' does not make it a journal in the technical sense; ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' is actually a
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...
.
Etymology
The word "magazine" derives from Arabic , the plural of meaning "depot, storehouse" (originally military storehouse); that comes to English via
Middle French
Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which:
* the French language became clearly distinguished from t ...
and Italian .
In its original sense, the word "magazine" referred to a storage space or device.
In the case of written publication, it refers to a collection of
written articles. This explains why magazine publications share the word with
gunpowder magazines,
artillery magazines,
firearm magazines, and in French and Russian (adopted from French as ),
retailers such as
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
s.
Distribution

Print magazines can be distributed through the
mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
, through sales by
newsstands,
bookstores, or other vendors, or through free distribution at selected pick-up locations.
Electronic distribution methods can include
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
,
email,
news aggregators, and visibility of a publication's
website and
search engine
A search engine is a software system designed to carry out web searches. They search the World Wide Web in a systematic way for particular information specified in a textual web search query. The search results are generally presented in a ...
results. The traditional subscription business models for distribution fall into three main categories:
Paid circulation
In this model, the magazine is sold to readers for a price, either on a per-issue basis or by subscription, where an annual fee or monthly price is paid and issues are sent by post to readers. Paid circulation allows for defined readership statistics.
Non-paid circulation
This means that there is no cover price and issues are given away, for example in street dispensers, airline, or included with other products or publications. Because this model involves giving issues away to unspecific populations, the statistics only entail the number of issues distributed, and not who reads them.
Controlled circulation
This is the model used by many trade magazines (industry-based periodicals) distributed only to qualifying readers, often for free and determined by some form of survey. Because of costs (e.g., printing and postage) associated with the medium of print, publishers may not distribute free copies to everyone who requests one (unqualified leads); instead, they operate under controlled circulation, deciding who may receive free subscriptions based on each person's qualification as a member of the trade (and likelihood of buying, for example, likelihood of having corporate purchasing authority, as determined from job title). This allows a high level of certainty that advertisements will be received by the advertiser's target audience, and it avoids wasted printing and distribution expenses. This latter model was widely used before the rise of the
World Wide Web and is still employed by some titles. For example, in the United Kingdom, a number of computer-industry magazines use this model, including ''
Computer Weekly'' and ''
Computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, ...
'', and in finance, ''
Waters Magazine''. For the global media industry, an example would be ''
VideoAge International.''
History
The earliest example of magazines was ''
Erbauliche Monaths Unterredungen
''Erbauliche Monaths Unterredungen'' ("Edifying Monthly Discussions") was a German philosophy periodical issued from 1663 to 1668. Though the publication's scope tended to be narrow (the majority of its content was singly authored by Johann Rist, ...
'', a literary and philosophy magazine, which was launched in 1663 in Germany.
''
The Gentleman's Magazine'', first published in 1731 in London was the first general-interest magazine.
Edward Cave
Edward Cave (27 February 1691 – 10 January 1754) was an English printer, editor and publisher. He coined the term " magazine" for a periodical, founding ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' in 1731, and was the first publisher to successfully fashi ...
, who edited ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' under the pen name "Sylvanus Urban", was the first to use the term "magazine", on the analogy of a military storehouse, the quote being: "a monthly collection, to treasure up as in a magazine". Founded by
Herbert Ingram in 1842, ''
The Illustrated London News'' was the first
illustrated weekly news magazine.
Britain
The oldest consumer magazine still in print is ''
The Scots Magazine'', which was first published in 1739, though multiple changes in ownership and gaps in publication totalling over 90 years weaken that claim. ''
Lloyd's List'' was founded in Edward Lloyd's England coffee shop in 1734; and though its online platform is still updated daily it has not been published as a magazine since 2013 after 274 years.
France

Under the ancient regime, the most prominent magazines were ''
Mercure de France'', ''
Journal des sçavans
The ''Journal des sçavans'' (later renamed ''Journal des savans'' and then ''Journal des savants,'' lit. ''Journal of the Learned''), established by Denis de Sallo, is the earliest academic journal published in Europe. It is thought to be the ea ...
'', founded in 1665 for scientists, and ''
Gazette de France'', founded in 1631.
Jean Loret
Jean Loret (ca 1600-1665) was a French writer and poet known for publishing the weekly news of Parisian society (including, initially, its pinnacle, the court of Louis XIV itself) from 1650 until 1665 in verse in what he called a ''gazette burles ...
was one of France's first journalists. He disseminated the weekly news of music, dance and Parisian society from 1650 until 1665 in verse, in what he called a ''gazette burlesque'', assembled in three volumes of ''La Muse historique'' (1650, 1660, 1665). The French press lagged a generation behind the British, for they catered to the needs of the aristocracy, while the newer British counterparts were oriented toward the middle and working classes.
Periodicals were censored by the central government in Paris. They were not totally quiescent politically—often they criticized Church abuses and bureaucratic ineptitude. They supported the monarchy and they played at most a small role in stimulating the revolution. During the Revolution, new periodicals played central roles as propaganda organs for various factions.
Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat (; born Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes'', a radical ...
(1743–1793) was the most prominent editor. His ''
L'Ami du peuple'' advocated vigorously for the rights of the lower classes against the enemies of the people Marat hated; it closed when he was assassinated. After 1800 Napoleon reimposed strict censorship.
Magazines flourished after Napoleon left in 1815. Most were based in Paris and most emphasized literature, poetry and stories. They served religious, cultural and political communities. In times of political crisis they expressed and helped shape the views of their readership and thereby were major elements in the changing political culture. For example, there were eight Catholic periodicals in 1830 in Paris. None were officially owned or sponsored by the Church and they reflected a range of opinion among educated Catholics about current issues, such as the 1830 July Revolution that overthrew the Bourbon monarchy. Several were strong supporters of the Bourbon kings, but all eight ultimately urged support for the new government, putting their appeals in terms of preserving civil order. They often discussed the relationship between church and state. Generally, they urged priests to focus on spiritual matters and not engage in politics. Historian M. Patricia Dougherty says this process created a distance between the Church and the new monarch and enabled Catholics to develop a new understanding of church-state relationships and the source of political authority.
Turkey
General
The ''Moniteur Ottoman'' was a gazette written in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and first published in 1831 on the order of
Mahmud II. It was the first
official gazette of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, edited by Alexandre Blacque at the expense of the
Sublime Porte. Its name perhaps referred to th