Andrew Noerr
Feature Writing
3 March 2014
Mother
Jones Publication Analysis
There
are many quality magazines that exist to serve the public by covering important
social issues and influential people, but for my specific profile, it seems
that Mother Jones is a magazine that could be willing to publish a story like
the one I am hoping to write if certain criteria are met. Specifically, I am
looking to profile an individual who works for the San Francisco Tenants Union,
and this woman has certainly been dealing with the numerous housing issues that
exist in San Francisco currently. For a potential profile like this, it seems
that Mother Jones could be a worthy pick because it is an internationally-known
magazine that does plenty of stories covering topics such as politics, human
rights, and others. Upon further analysis though, there are factors that show
that Mother Jones could prove not to be a magazine that would be willing to
cover my specific profile idea unless I spun the story in a certain way. Overall,
Mother Jones has guidelines and aspects that favor a potential publication of
my profile and do not support my profile idea as well.
The
first thing worth studying in regards to Mother Jones is the magazine’s
guidelines for its writers. Upon first glance, the guidelines brought me
optimism that this magazine could publish my potential profile because it is
stated that a lot of emphasis is put towards publishing stories concerning
human rights and political issues. However, further reading showed that Mother
Jones may also not be willing to publish my story at all. It is clearly stated
later in the guidelines that Mother Jones has zero interest in publishing
stories about local issues unless it has national implications. This is
mentioned because the magazine is known for having a nationwide audience.
Therefore, a profile that highlights an important community member that helps
people who cope with housing issues in San Francisco would not qualify for publication
in Mother Jones at all unless I make a connection between the housing issues in
San Francisco to the overall economy of the United States perhaps. Therefore,
after reading the writer’s guidelines, it is clear that a straight-up profile
of a woman that works for the San Francisco Tenants Union would not be
published by Mother Jones unless I make a connection to the national economy or
national housing issues in general.
After
studying the writer’s guidelines for Mother Jones, the next stage of analysis
was to see if any stories had been published recently in Mother Jones that are
related to my potential profile. After careful examination, I was glad to find
a photo essay* that highlighted the essence of the SoMa neighborhood before
Silicon Valley companies came in and turned the area into a center for rampant
technology development. The small story was well-written, and it contained many
photos of an older San Francisco that differs tremendously from the San
Francisco that we all know today. The story made me want to live in that San
Francisco instead. In addition to all that, the story highlighted the current
housing issues that exist in the city, and that is exactly what my profile
would address. Interestingly, this article also made me realize that Mother
Jones may have contradicted itself in its writer’s guidelines. While the
magazine strives to publish stories that would have a nationwide impact, the
photo essay I read seemed to have more of a local vibe that would only appeal
to citizens of San Francisco. In the end, the articles that I have read
including the photo essay have made me more optimistic that Mother Jones could
hypothetically publish my profile in the future.
Going
even further, it seems that my profile would fit very well into the Mother
Jones editorial calendar too. For each month or pair of months, Mother Jones
has a theme that its stories strive to reflect. My potential profile would be
most related to politics and human rights, and these are two of the main themes
that Mother Jones has in its editorial calendar. Now, my profile is expected to
be finished in May, and it turns out that the theme for May and June in this
year’s Mother Jones editorial calendar is politics. Therefore, my profile may
fit in very well in this magazine for the months of May and June. Therefore,
the editorial calendar has provided even more proof that my profile could be
published by Mother Jones.
The
last key aspect that is important to the analysis of Mother Jones is its
demographic breakdown. According to the breakdowns provided on the Mother Jones
website and Mother Jones Media Kit, the readers of Mother Jones are highly
educated, as 97% of readers attended college and 77% of readers earned a
bachelor’s degree or better. Also, approximately 45% of readers consider
themselves progressive, while 32% of readers consider themselves liberal. Even
more interestingly, 91% of readers believe that corporations have the
responsibility of gauging the impact of their actions on the public, and 23% of
readers took action in a local issue. Lastly, 65% of readers contacted elected
officials concerning matters that impact the public. With all of this
information in mind, it seems that the demographic breakdown favors potential
publication of my story because the profile would highlight a person who is
associated with a complex social issue, and the audience of Mother Jones seems
to be highly educated and caring about issues that matter to the public.
Therefore, the demographic breakdown has me even more hopeful, as my profile
would hypothetically be published to an audience that wants to make a
difference in this world.
Overall,
it is a tough call whether Mother Jones would publish my potential profile or
not. There are many factors such as the demographic breakdown and the editorial
calendar that support potential publication of my story, and there are also
factors that seemingly don’t help or hinder my chances of publication such as
the advertising partners and letters to the editor. However, it is the portion
of the writer’s guidelines about avoiding the publication of local stories to a
nationwide audience that has kept me reluctant to commit to the idea of Mother
Jones being a perfect magazine for my story. However, I know that if I make a
connection between housing issues in San Francisco to the nationwide economy as
a whole, then my profile could appeal to a much larger audience. Therefore,
Mother Jones could support publication of the story, even though I’d rather let
my profile subject stay in the spotlight throughout the entire story.
Nevertheless, if that’s what it takes, then I am willing to make the
adjustments necessary in order to increase the chances of my profile being
published in Mother Jones.
*Link to photo essay: http://www.motherjones.com/media/2013/12/photos-san-francisco-janet-delaney-south-market
No comments:
Post a Comment