University of Mississippi

                                               Twentieth Century 

Theodore Peterson brought the history to 1964 with his exploration of major trends and 

the social and economic forces that shape them in 

Magazines in the Twentieth Century

. Changes 

occurred more quickly in the six years after 1956 than in any other time since the printing of the 

first magazine Peterson claimed. He praised the work of Mott and Wood while noting that these 

scholars’ books were “silent about many of the developments in the industry since the turn of the 

century” that necessitated his own writings “to remedy the deficiency.”

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Children’s magazines encounter the same problems as those for adults plus additional 

obstacles and Peterson examined the reasons for their success and failure. He attributed the 

demise of magazines for older children from ages of nine to 16 to the arrival of radio and 

television and the rise of the market for younger readers between two and 12 to the fact that their 

publications did not depend upon advertising for support. 

                                                                                                                                                   

---

 

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To Market 

Judith S. Duke’s 

Children’s Books and Magazines: A Market Study

 is a concise look at 

the state of children’s publishing in 1979 with predictions for the future. Duke provided an 

analysis of demographic, economic, and social trends affecting the industry because “today as 

never before the juvenile industry is faced with questions about its future.”

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 Writing six years 

before Kelly, Duke noted “there have been few, if any, books written on the business of 

publishing children’s literature and the outlook for that business.”

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Juvenile magazines of the 1970s targeted all ages and interests through varied circulation 

and marketing strategies. Then as now, most children’s general magazines relied on subscription 

sales rather than advertising and newsstand sales. Subscription costs varied depending on the 

source—acquiring a subscriber was more expensive than retaining one.  

Renewal rates are relatively meaningless in the children’s magazine industry. Children’s 

periodicals have lower renewals than the rest of the industry because children constantly outgrow 

publications. Most solicitations are conducted by direct mail and juvenile magazine promoters 

must study to know their market. Both Parents’ Magazine Enterprises and Curtis Publishing have 

lines of juvenile magazines serving three- to 14-year-olds so that as a child outgrows one 

magazine, she can be promoted to the next.  

 

The juvenile industry of the 1970s was beset by problems and change. Some were 

common to the publishing industry as a whole—such as rising costs and postage—while others 

were unique to the youth market. Despite the lower birth rate slowing the growth of juvenile 

magazines at that time, Duke predicated in 1979, “they will continue to have a market, and the 

future may be brightest for those catering to a specialized audience.”

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