The Art of Making Magazines: On Being an Editor and Other Views from the Industry

by Victor Navasky, Evan Cornog

Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231131377
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	09/05/2012
Series:	Columbia Journalism Review Books
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction, by Evan Cornog and Victor S. Navasky
1. Talking About Writing for Magazines (Which One Shouldn't Do), by John Gregory Dunne
2. Magazine Editing Then and Now, by Ruth Reichl
3. How to Become the Editor-in-Chief of Your Favorite Women's Magazine, by Roberta Myers
4. Editing a Thought-Leader Magazine, by Michael Kelly
5. Fact-Checking at The New Yorker, by Peter Canby
6. A Magazine Needs Copyeditors Because . . ., by Barbara Walraff
7. How to Talk to the Art Director, by Chris Dixon
8. Three Weddings and a Funeral, by Tina Brown
9. The Simpler the Idea, the Better, by Peter W. Kaplan
10. The Publisher's Role: Crusading Defender of the First Amendment or Advertising Salesman?, by John R. MacArthur
11. Editing Books Versus Editing Magazines, by Robert Gottlieb
12. The Reader Is King, by Felix Dennis

What People are Saying About This

Robert S. Boynton

"With all the economic challenges facing magazines, we sometimes forget how how important they are to the culture. But how do magazines work? In these fascinating essays, we learn the intricacies of the magazine from some of the finest editors, art directors, fact-checkers, publishers and writers in the business.Evan Cornog and Victor Navasky have produced a book that reminds us of the fun,drama and excitement of magazines."

— Robert S. Boynton, author of The New New Journalism, and director of the Literary Reportage concentration at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.

Editorial Reviews

...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

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.

Library Journal