It appeared,however,as the early 1990s arrived that there was a need for another thorough look at these publications to see what,if any,major changes had taken place.To help meet this need,the author decided to replicate a substantial part of the study he reported in 1979 and supplement it with some new questions suggested by developments since then.The questionnaire developed for this purpose probes a variety of actual and potential city magazine roles and asks questions such as these:Do city magazines emphasize reporting on lifestyles,entertainment,food,tourism,and business opportunities?Do they seek to point out community problems and needs and recommend solutions?Do they take stands on community issues through editorials or other forms of commentary?Do they seek to provide an alternative to local newspapers in reporting and commenting on community issues?If so,do they use traditional journalism techniques such as editorials,cartoons and columns?By using some of the same questions used earlier,the questionnaire generated information on trends that have evolved and how the magazines have changed.
Method
The current study is based on information obtained by sending a four-page questionnaire to a list of 74 city magazine editors or publishers.The list was compiled from lists in Standard Rate&Data,Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media,the U.S.Regional Publications Directory published by Bradley Communications,and other library sources.State and regional magazines,which often are listed along with city magazines in these directories,were eliminated from the study since a number of the questions deal specifically with cities and their needs.The questionnaire,which is comprised mostly of multiple choice questions,was mailed along with a short cover letter and a stamped,self-addressed return envelope earlier this year.Several weeks after the first mailing a similar mailing was sent to those that had not responded,and several weeks after that a third mailing was sent to those that still had not responded.Usable responses were received from 56 magazines or 76%of the total.This percentage compares favorably with the 58.5%response to the original study in the late 1970s.
All sections of the country have city magazines,and all are adequately represented in the survey.The largest number of city magazines is in the South,20;it is followed closely by the West,19,and the Midwest,18;The East has 12 and the Southwest five.The regions and the states included in them are as follows:East:Connecticut,Delaware,Maine,Maryland,Massachusetts,New Hampshire,New Jersey,New York,Pennsylvania,Rhode Island,Vermont,and the District of Columbia;South:Alabama,Florida,Georgia,Kentucky,Louisiana,Mississippi,North Carolina,South Carolina,Tennessee,Virginia,and West Virginia;Midwest:Michigan,Minnesota,Missouri,Nebraska,Ohio,and Wisconsin;Southwest:Arksansas,New Mexico,Oklahoma,and Texas;West:Alaska,Arizona,California,Colorado,Hawaii,Idaho,Montana,Nevada,North Dakota,Oregon,South Dakota,Utah,Washington,and Wyoming.The percentage of magazines from each section that responded is as follows:South,85%;East,75%;West,74%;Midwest,72%,and Southwest,60%.Half of the responding magazines have circulations ranging from 20,000 through 50,000,but the overall figures vary greatly.Responses were received from large magazines such as New York,435,000;Los Angeles,174,000;and The Washingtonian,l60,480,and from small magazines such as Greenwich(CT),6,500;Athens(GA),6,000;and Columbia(SC),5,000.To facilitate comparisons with the results obtained in the original survey and help identify trends,this study will consider a number of the topics discussed then,including the potential of city magazines to provide alternatives to newspapers in covering and commenting on public issues.It will report on basic data about ownership,publication,and distribution;the roles editors have defined for their magazines;magazine content;coverage of issues;possible influence on issues;and possible trends in the field.In addition,the magazines have been divided by circulation into three approximately equal groups to see if size makes any significant difference in their approach to some of the questions raised.These categories are large,50,000 and over;medium,21,000 to 45,000;and small,20,000 and under.
Results
Basic data.The trend toward private ownership of city magazines indicated in the 1979 study was confirmed.A large majority(89%)of the city magazines are privately owned today;only 5%are operated by chambers of commerce and only 4%are run by non-profit organizations;2%did not answer the question.In 1979,three-fourths of the magazines were privately owned in a reversal from the 1960s when many were operated by chambers of commerce.
Almost two-thirds(64%)of the city magazines are published monthly.A fifth(20%)are published bimonthly;7%are published quarterly,and 5%weekly.Two magazines publish 10 issues a year.
Most of the magazines rely on subions more than single copy sales to distribute their products;18%distribute more than 90%of their magazines through subions;34%distribute more than 80%through subions,and 43%distribute at least 70%in that way.
Perceived Roles.Editors in 1993 have similar views to those expressed by editors in the late 1970s regarding the roles and functions of city magazines.Most of them(93%)cited providing information about living in the city and lifestyles and providing information about food,travel,and entertainment as important functions.Almost as many(82%)cited pointing out community needs as an important function.In the 1979 study,95%and 97%,respectively,cited the first two and 87%cited the third.
