Locating/ Identifying Popular Magazines
- Reader's Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 This link opens in a new windowA database containing comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States. Reflects the history of 20th century America. Covers these areas: Aeronautics, African-Americans, Aging, Archeology, Astronomy, Automobiles, Biographies, Business, Children, Education, Environment, Fashion, Film, Fine Arts, Food, Foreign Affairs, Gardening, Health, History, Hobbies, Home, Journalism, Leisure Activities, Literature, Medicine, Music, News, Nutrition, Photography, Politics, Popular Culture, Radio, Religion, Science, Sports, Technology, Television, Travel. The complete database covers the years 1890 through 1982.
- Ulrich's Periodicals DirectoryContains information on currently published as well as discontinued periodicals. Includes magazines, journals, newsletters, newspapers, conference proceedings, and electronic publications, together with search and browse indexes. Ulrich's to help you find information on the audience/ target readership of a particular magazine or periodical. Many of the descriptions below come from Ulrich's.
American Mass-Market Magazines by
Call Number: Olin Reference PN4877 .A51This volume provides concise, in-depth histories of 106 of the most significant mass-market or general magazines in the United states--both active periodicals and those which have ceased publication. Print only in Olin Reference (non-circulating).
Left Political
- The NationCovers foreign affairs, local and national politics, education and law.
- Mother Jonesenvironmental and progressive issues
Right Political
- National ReviewDiscusses national and international issues from a conservative viewpoint.
Culture
- New YorkerLiterary and Political Reviews. Contains a collection of deeply distinctive approaches, sense of humor, levels of reporting and ways of looking at life.
Cornell subscription to the New Yorker. Full coverage all years. - Rolling StoneContains articles describes interviews and reviews covering all aspects of the pop-rock music industry. Includes features on politics, movies and fashion.
Hobbies & Interests
Science for the layperson
Selected Popular Titles
- Reader's DigestMonthly magazine of general-interest nonfiction articles for the whole family.
"The Digest today may be the most powerful vehidlce for the printed word in the world, claiming that 100 million people read the magazine each month." Socially and politically conservative editorial policy. Simplistic approach to complex ideas and problem solving.
Information from Nourie, American Mass Market Magazines - Life Magazine... a major weekly news magazine with a strong emphasis on photojournalism. This link takes you to Google Books' "About This Magazine" page for Life. Scroll down a bit for the "Browse All Issues" section, which allows you to select individual issues. Use Google Books' Advanced search page to do specific keyword searches. Here is a brief (and somewhat informal) screencast you might find helpful in navigating this resource.
- Sports Illustrated Magazine ArchiveEach issue originally focused on more upper-class sporting activities such as polo and boating, but in the 1960s the magazine expanded its focus to include the increasingly popular professional sports of baseball, football, and, eventually, basketball. Articles and cover pages are fully indexed and advertisements are individually identified, ensuring researchers and readers can quickly and accurately locate the information they seek. Sports Illustrated Magazine Archive is valuable to researchers of 20th-century current events, politics and culture, as well as those interested in the history of business, advertising, and popular culture.
Current Events
- NewsweekLibrary supscription from 1975-2012. Current issues see the website: http://www.newsweek.com.
Magazine Digital Collections
- Women's Magazine ArchiveA searchable archive of leading women's interest magazines, dating from the 19th century through to the 21st. Subject coverage includes consumer culture, economics/marketing, family life, fashion, gender studies, health and fitness, home/interior design, popular culture, and social history. This database provides access to the complete archives of several 19th and 20th-century women's magazines. In combination, the publications cover topics such as family life, home economics, health, careers, fashion, culture, and many more; this material serves multiple research areas, from gender studies, social history, and the arts, through to education, politics and marketing/media history.
Alternative and Radical Press Collections
- Independent VoicesIndependent Voices is an open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.
- AltPressIndexSubjects covered include anarchism, democracy, ecology, feminism, gay and lesbian issues, indigenous peoples, labor, national liberation, and socialism.
- Alt-Press WatchAlt-PressWatch includes full-text newspapers and magazines from alternative, independent presses, providing an unmatched, multidisciplinary resource for researchers seeking an alternative to mainstream media perspectives.
Coverage: 1970 - current
Magazines Targeted at Women
- RedbookOne of the leading women's periodicals in the United States, with emphasis on married women.
- Ms. MagazineContains features about feminist issues and concerns, national and international news concerning women, along with original fiction and poetry.
- Working Woman(1976- 2009) Featured articles on career advancement, entrepreneurship, work/life balance, issues affecting women in the workplace and much more.
- EssenceCovers black women's interests.
Targeted at Men
African-American audience
- Black Enterprise(1970-Current) Features business service information for African American professionals and entrepreneurs.
- Ebony(1945-Current) Contains information geared to interests of black Americans. Features African Americans in politics, business and the arts.
- Essence(1970-Current) Covers black women's interests.
Business/ Finance
- Business Week/ Bloomberg(1929-Current) Provides comprehensive coverage of news and developments affecting the business world. Includes information on computers, finance, labor, industry, marketing, science and technology.
- Black Enterprise(1970-Current) Features business service information for African American professionals and entrepreneurs.
Celebrity/ Fashion
Teen Audience
- Sassy MagazineMar. 1988-Dec. 1996