Magazines at the Millennium: Communication
Professor Looks at the Future of Popular Publications

November 1999  -  The names on the cover may be different--Time, Cosmopolitan, Sports Illustrated, TV Guide--yet all these publications are dealing with the same issue: how to entice readers to keep coming back to the magazine rack, especially with increased competition from the world wide web and other media.  Sammye Johnson, the Carlos Augustus de Lozano Chair in Journalism at Trinity University, sees magazine publishers relying on two strategies to keep afloat in the future. "I see two main trends involving magazine audiences and editorial content as we move into the next century," says Johnson.  "One trend grows out of three groups that will continue to be important media audiences: baby boomers, ethnic and racial groups, and teens.  The other trend revolves around celebrity journalism as a significant editorial factor." Johnson, with co-writer Patricia Prijatel of Duke University, has recently written Magazine Publishing, a book that examines magazines and their role in American society.  Johnson has also written about the subject as an academician and as a freelance journalist for major magazines.  Her articles have appeared in The New York Times and Ladies' Home Journal. To speak to Johnson about magazine trends past, present and future, contact Russell Guerrero at (210) 999-8406 or by e-mail at rguerrer@trinity.edu.

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Last updated on June 7, 2000 by the Office of Public Relations