Time Magazine July 1925

Upon initially learning about this assignment, I was interested to know what popular magazines were like in the early part of the twentieth century. I began my research thinking that there would be a major difference in substance between past issues and present issues of the same magazine. I have a great sense of disdain for most magazines today because of their knack for filling the better part of each issue with advertisements and today’s hot gossip, rather than substantive news (ironically, I’m majoring in marketing). However, after researching for this response, I’ve come to the conclusion that I may have been a little harsh: although there are indeed more advertisements and fluff pieces in the present form, I found both my July 1925 Time and my October 2011 Time magazines provided an excellent overview of the world around them.

            The biggest differences between the 1925 Time magazine and the 2011 Time magazine are the advertising formats and the advertisements themselves. In the 1925 issue, I found my premonitions to be correct. The first advertisement appeared on page 19, whereas the first advertisement in the current issue was on the left side immediately upon turning the cover page. It seems to me that the 1925 editors were determined to provide the news first and collect ad revenue later, something that seems to be missing from the current issue. The first eighteen pages include four pages on national affairs, seven pages on foreign news, three pages on entertainment, one page on education, one page on medicine, one page on science, and one page on religion. In essence, nearly every important magazine topic was written before a single ad graced the page. To me, this underlines a significant shift that has taken place in American culture: the shift to consumerism. In 1925, Time editors knew that readers were buying their magazine for the substance rather than the entertainment value. Society as a whole placed higher value on the pursuit of knowledge than today, when magazine readers are won by flashy covers and juicy celebrity gossip.

            The advertisements themselves also differ greatly. In the 1925 Time magazine, advertisements were bought according to size. It appears that the normal purchase was about a quarter of the page on the outside, although some products bought full pages or half pages. This stands in contrast with today’s advertisements, which generally take up a full page of the magazine. Another difference is in the advertisements themselves. In the 1925 issue, the ads focused on the product and its capabilities. Today’s magazine ads focus more on drawing the reader’s eye, rather than informing them of the product itself.

            The most interesting thing I found in the July 1925 issue was the inclusion of an article about the Scopes monkey trial. Although it is taught in most history classes, my knowledge of it was just that: a historical perspective. Reading about the trial as if it were current, which the 1925 Time issue allowed me to do, gave me an entirely new perspective. I read reactions from people of the time that the magazine interviewed and learned that while it is taught for its effect on the public school systems, many people consider it an example of the beginning of sensational journalism. The Time article focused on the effect the “Great Trial” was having on people rather than on the law. The article reviewed the facts of the case before closing with an interesting quote from John E. Edgerton: “Such a spectacle as the turning of an American court into an advertising arena for publicity seekers with warped mentalities and a parade ground for freaks, fanatics and fools, ought to be impossible in the country which gave John Marshall to immortal fame… The walking delegates of agnosticism, atheism, communism and bolshevism will be there. Everything will be represented except Science and Religion.”