Photo Magazines

Characteristics

Given that almost every title displayed at an average newsstand includes illustration, the mere fact that a periodical includes photographs is not sufficient to qualify it as a photo magazine. Based on the three major dimensions for classification as suggested by journalism scholar Marcia PriorMiller (see Abrahamson 1995, 8–17), photo magazines are defined as (a) general rather than special interest magazines, in their audience appeal and editorial scope; (b) news magazines covering many topics rather than focusing on particular fields; and (c) a mixture of information (dominant) and entertainment (subsidiary) centering on current events rather than business, professional issues, or entertainment.

This excludes several types of magazines—those on photography itself, most consumer magazines lacking a “news” component, and the vast field of underground and lifestyle magazines that usually do not aim at a larger audience. But any suggested typology of periodicals falls short of providing clear-cut classifications in the face of an endless diversity of magazines available. The social and journalistic relevance of photo magazines peaked in the mid-twentieth century, with titles such as Life and Look in the United States; Weekly Illustrated and Picture Post in Britain; Vu and Paris-Match in France; and Münchner Illustrierte and Berliner Illustrierte in Germany.

From a global perspective, the American Life magazine, founded in 1936, encompasses most features associated with photo magazines. Life set out to tell a story in pictures, or at least to provide pictures to explain what happens in the text. A “reader” needed only the ability and willingness to see, assess, and make sense not only of what was written but also of what was shown. The first prospectus for Life, titled Dime (after its intended price) and distributed in June 1936, highlighted the famous quote which became programmatic for the new magazine and can speak for photo journals in general: