Magazines - Kim Walden

This series aims to encourage a critical awareness of the impact of the mass media on society. Each title explores the content and methods of presentation of the various media, the effects they have on our lives and the technical processes used to convey information.;In this volume the author gives an illustrated account of the rises, falls and changes in magazines and their readership, aiming to give an insight into magazines in a way which relates the reader's own experience of reading magazines and comics to a wider view of the whole industry.;The book analyses how magazine publishing began and documents the social, historical and economic changes which have influenced and affected magazines. Walden describes how the magazine industry works, looking at the multinational owners and the targeting of readership for advertising and distribution. An explanation of the rise of alternative magazines shows how many smaller magazines have started and have influenced the multinationals.;The rise, fall and present popularity of comics is discussed, explaining the changing face of the segregated boy/girl teenage market and the link with readership of adult magazines. There are also chapters dealing with music magazines and how they developed, women's magazines and finally a look at magazines in the future.;The text is accompanied by a glossary, a further reading list and an index. The series is designed to provide background reading for GCSE and Standard Grade in Scotland.;Kim Walden works as a Media Studies Animateur at a Hertfordshire College and has contributed to magazines such as "Independent Media" and "Initiatives". She is also an active member of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom and the Women in Media Education network.