Basic Attributes of a Magazine
The basic attributes that differentiate magazines from other mass media are as follows:
(i) Glossy cover and inside pages:
They have glossy cover with colourful photographs that increase their aesthetic quality. Today, magazines do not just have glossy cover but the entire inside pages are also printed in glossy paper thereby improving the aesthetic value of the publications.
(ii) Durability:
Magazines are pinned or bound like books. Their glossy cover, together with the bound pages makes them more durable than newspapers.
(iii) Relatively longer interval of publication:
Magazines take a relatively longer time to come out (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.), basically due to the in-depth and investigative nature of the story contents.
(iv) Featurized reporting:
The news presentation format of most magazine stories is featurized, having more in-depth information than straight news reports in newspapers.
(v) Relatively longer story deadline:
Most magazine stories take longer time to investigate because of their in-depth nature, unlike straight news reports that dominate newspapers and broadcast media news content. While daily newspaper stories have daily deadlines (often between 3p.m. and 4 p.m.), weekly magazine stories have up to four days in a week to beat deadline (often Thursday).
(vi) They are portable and convenient:
The bound package makes magazines easy to read, handle and move about.
(vii) They are known for high quality print and exceptional graphics:
This improves their aesthetic quality and stands them out amongst other print media.
