The first issue contained an interview with one of the school cooks on
political turmoil in Eastern Europe. It became the first of many quirky
interviews: a school secretary gave her views on nuclear disarmament, a
department store Santa revealed his position on safe sex and so on. The
first issue also included an in-depth report on class scheduling; a sports
profile; and a few humorous pieces, such as a proposal to build a 20-min-
ute nap into the school day.
The cover story was a team project involving a group of eight reporters
who took turns shadowing a student volunteer from the time she woke
at 7:02 a.m. to the moment her head finally hit the pillow that night at
11:07 p.m. They tried to find out, as one writer put it, “what goes on in
the life of a normal, flag-waving, non-communist teen-age prototype.”
The nine-page article also included interviews with the student’s parents
and her boyfriend.
A Magazine for Your School
Perhaps your school already has a magazine, or you may wish to start
one. You could take Muse’s motto to heart: “Do not follow where the
path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” In
any event, a magazine offers a more freewheeling and inventive format
than perhaps any other kind of publication.
Magazines are generally written in a feature style with less timely
news and a greater emphasis on people and personalities. This format
often fits the needs of school publications with their two- to four-week
production schedules much better than does the breaking news style of
newspapers. The magazine format also allows more room for photos and
the use of graphics to illustrate articles. Some schools have found that
magazines are easier to produce in page form on small computer screens
than are broadsheet newspapers.
Some schools have changed the format of their newspapers to a
magazine style to help overcome the problem of long time lapses
between issues. Although the school may produce fewer issues of a
news magazine than it did of a newspaper, those issues may have many
more pages. This helps a staff that needs more time to plan and produce
each issue. It also gives readers what they want to read in the school
publication—stories about people and more features on issues like
drug abuse and relationships—and fewer stories that have grown cold
between issues.
Some schools are even producing their yearbooks in a magazine-style
format. Typically, three or four installments are printed during the year.
The yearbook staff then passes out a special binder with the last install-
ment to hold everything together. The formality of a hardcover yearbook
has given way to the more casual design and feel of a magazine.
Often, students who work on a magazine feel a strong sense of own-
ership. The students who produced Muse, for example, felt they were
breaking new ground with each issue. That spirit can sometimes lead to
trouble, as it did with a “swimsuit issue” that began as an effort to spoof
the late winter swimsuit specials but ended up offending some who
didn’t get the joke.
YEARBOOKS AND MAGAZINES^417
OutTake
AARP Heads the List
When it comes to maga-
zines, there are more to read
than ever. About 7,000 different
magazines were published 50
years ago. Today, the num-
ber is approaching 22,000.
In terms of sheer circulation,
AARP The Magazine —a publica-
tion of the American Association
of Retired Persons —is the largest
popular magazine in the country,
with over 22 million issues sold.
TV Guide is fourth. Other familiar
magazines on the Top 10 list
includeNational Geo graphic,
Better Homes & Gardens and
Family Circle.Sports Illustrated
ranked 15th on one recent list.
The combined circulation of
all the magazines in the United
States is more than 369 million.