What's the difference between a magazine and a newspaper?

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Permalink Reply by Don Tydeman on September 23, 2008 at 8:31pm

In the past we would say frequency would be a driver. But the Internet has made that irrelevant. No?

If you ignore that, I would say the differentiator is style and edit cycles. Given the same topic newspapers publish the facts they know at press time. The value is on immediacy. Magazines will tell a complete story that puts the fact into context and it takes time to tell that story.

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Thomas on September 23, 2008 at 8:42pm

"In the past we would say frequency would be a driver. But the Internet has made that irrelevant. No?"

Funny you should mention that ... this conversation kind of spun off a conversation about defining online magazines and newspapers and if they could even be called magazines or newspapers (I still say, yes).

Your comment about editorial style definitely makes some sense. Do you think most web content seems to follow the immediacy model, as well?

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Permalink Reply by Aleigh Acerni on September 24, 2008 at 9:56am

To answer this question at the basic level (instead of addressing every other individual comment!), here's what I think the ultimate differences are between newspapers and magazines:
-Content (ie news coverage v. otherwise)
-Style--newswriting is a very structured style of writing, with the whole inverted pyramid concept, etc., whereas magazine style (while varied) definitely is a more fluid, less-structured form of writing. Both allow for creativity, but in different ways. There is also a difference here in that most newspapers use AP Style format, whereas most magazines stick to the Chicago Manual. (skirt!, by the way, is mostly Chicago but with it's own set of rules...personal essays can be very tricky to edit.)
-Frequency/Format/Distribution -- This is where things get tricky. There are some magazines that are weekly. There are some that are monthly. There are some that are quarterly. On the flip side, there are daily and biweekly newspapers (I'm not aware of any monthlies, but they may exist). Format (including size, paper, etc.) can be just as varied as frequency, if not more so. And as for distribution, well...skirt! is free, and in magazine racks and boxes all over the place (although we do offer subscriptions). Most glossies are available to purchase on an individual or subscription basis. Most newspapers are available for purchase, as well, although some, mostly the alt-weeklies, are freely distributed as well.

When you get into online-only publications, I think there's a new set of definitions, although some of these are obviously the same for both print and web.

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Permalink Reply by Aleigh Acerni on September 24, 2008 at 10:26am

Ah, the Internet. I am now copyediting my post and wanting to make clear that I know the difference between "it's" and "its."

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Thomas on September 24, 2008 at 10:42am

Thanks again for the in-depth info. You'll have to forgive my ignorance. I'm on the production / creative side of the industry and even though we work very closely with editorial staff, my understanding of writing styles / formats really doesn't go much further than proofreader marks =) .

Okay, following the above qualifier, even though I can't recognize the differences in formats and styles, it does make a lot of sense. Do you know what kind of writing style / format the average news-oriented magazine follows? I'm thinking along the lines of NewsWeek, U.S. News, etc.?

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Permalink Reply by Aleigh Acerni on September 24, 2008 at 10:49am

I would say for news coverage (whether newspaper or newsmagazine), it would be AP Style, all the way. AP Style just lends itself better to the more straightforward style of writing that most newswriting follows.

However, since I haven't ever worked for a newsmagazine, that is mostly conjecture on my part. As I understand it, originally, there was a difference in newspaper v. magazine style because they were printed on different presses--newspapers couldn't print in italics (which magazines love). The differences have grown from there.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Convertito on September 24, 2008 at 12:24pm

although the lines are pretty blurred nowadays, I tend think of newspapers as generally unbiased news + facts, whereas magazines are expected to be TOTALLY biased and editorialized...unless it's a news magazine of course ;)

newspapers = school librarian

magazines = cool older brother

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Permalink Reply by Richard Michem on September 24, 2008 at 12:30pm

Well a lot of that is who own the newspaper, in so far as they being unbiased. Just look at the history of a newspaper groups, owned by the guy who bought the WSJ. I have to agree with what you said about mag, being the cool older brother. I would add the "cool sexier older brother."

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Thomas on September 24, 2008 at 3:52pm

Hmm... I checked out your page and you definitely have some "cool older brother" magazine experience!

Definitely, not in my world ... I'm over here in the "school librarian" corner of the magazine industry =) .

Mostly trade, association, micro-niche or general interest publications. Most of which have a definite unbiased, reporting tone of voice.

Plus, I can't help but think of Creative Loafing when I think of "cool older brother."

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Permalink Reply by Alex Theberge on September 24, 2008 at 4:03pm

What a fascinating question!

Immediately the "intended audience" comes to mind. A narrow focus would lean more to magazine-ish; whereas a publication with a variety of sections (for a broader audience) would be closer to newspaper-ish.

Superficially: If I see a publication q-folded - I'd say it's a newspaper. Anything with a single-fold or perfect bound / saddle-stitch is a magazine.

In a gray area though, I believe the Boston Globe (I think - right?) is more of a magazine (single fold) that reads like a newspaper.

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Thomas on September 24, 2008 at 4:14pm

There are definitely tons of crossovers and publications floating around in the gray area. Or more to the point, publications which at first glance, we would label as X when they are really Y. I think it typically has to do with us making the distinction based on media format and not content or that magic, missing, defining aspect.

Aleigh definitely had some great insight on explaining some of the typical content differences between the two, but even with that, we're still finding crossovers like Creative Loafing.

Curse Webster for having synonymous definitions!

I'm wondering if all just comes down to whatever the publishing company wants to call themselves???

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Permalink Reply by Don Tydeman on November 4, 2008 at 6:58pm

Perfect yes. Saddle maybe but not always. Many B2B weekly tabloids are saddle-stitched. The binding process has nothing to do with it. The difference is in the editorial voice.

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