{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.019753086419753086, 'fraction_numerical': 0.004629629629629629, 'mean_word_length': 5.057943925233645, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Book Review: The Art of Making Magazines: On Being an Editor and other Views from the Industry

The Art of Making Magazines is as intriguing for its personal anecdotes about writers, editors and the world of magazines as it is for its sound advice and insights into an industry and the professions that serve it. Although each chapter reflects the experiences and opinions of its respective author, and each of these authors has honed a career within the industry, collectively they provide historical insights into the impacts and changes that the magazine industry has undergone from the use of the humble typewriter through to the challenges that all print media face with the advent of the digital age. This collection is also a commentary about the role that the online environment now plays in directing and reshaping the magazine industry as a whole. Each self-contained chapter was delivered as a series of lectures forming the George Delacorte lecture series at the Columbia School of Journalism between 2002 and 2009, and essentially the reader is provided with a rich and honest ethnographic account of the experiences, conflicts and challenges of magazine production and distribution. From Gourmet and iconic fashion magazines Vogue, Elle and Harpers Bazaar, to the political and cultural coverage contained within The Times, The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly, the magazine is presented as cultural icon in a constantly changing world, and the text describes how the industry has had to change and adapt in order to survive and flourish. This book also lays bare the intricate and often symbiotic relationships that exist between writer, journalist, editor, copy-editor and fact-checker in bringing together publications that have meaning to their reading audiences, while satisfying myriad other influences – advertisers, owners, management and an often fickle public. John R. Macarthur (p. 143) explains the difficulties in publishing stories that inadvertently offend advertisers and the fine balancing act required to manage relationships while ensuring journalistic integrity and the ongoing financial viability of the publisher. Michael Kelly (p. 64) talks about the differences that set magazines apart from mainstream newspapers and other forms of media, and describes it as that of taking chaos and diffusing it and sieving it until the writing comes out as the essential artifice, narrow and implicit in focus. It is this process that is at the core of the making of a successful magazine. Roberta Myers (p. 47), of Elle, says that, despite the images, artistic direction, culture and pop culture connections, and the supposed glamour associated with magazine production, one should never forget that it is about the reader – that content should be edited and written for the reader. Overall, this book is a journey and an insight into the bohemian days of journalism and celebrity, from Hunter S. Thompson, Gore Vidal, Tom Wolfe and Andy Warhol to Will Smith and McDonald’s. It is as fascinating in its social commentary as it is in providing meaningful advice for writers, editors, journalists and those interested in the revelations and machinations of an era. — Bridget Ransome, University of South Australia