Periodicals are one of the most popular media , the main distinguishing feature of which is the regularity of the output. We will talk about the most common forms of periodicals, its types, history, stages of development in this article.
Definition of a concept
Periodic print media primarily include newspapers, magazines, newsletters, collections, calendars. It is in them that the most characteristic and main features of periodicals are reflected - this is their purpose, structure of the publication and material construction, volume, availability of official registration. It is these features that determine the features of the publication and its form.
In discussing this direction of classification of periodicals, the term genre is sometimes used. The genre is established at the registration stage, when the founders receive permission to publish it.
Among the types of periodicals, the most common and popular are newspapers. This edition, which is issued on several printed pages at strictly defined short intervals. As a rule, newspapers are daily and weekly. They contain relevant information, publish informational and analytical materials, as well as journalistic, popular science, literary and artistic articles, drawings, photographs, caricatures, collages.
Newspapers themselves are divided into several types. These are general political newspapers that cover issues of the state’s foreign and domestic policy, international events, and such publications are intended for a wide range of readers.
There are specialized newspapers that cover only certain areas of social life, technology, science, culture or other industries. They are aimed at a specific, fairly narrow audience.
Magazines and Newsletters
Magazines are another popular form of periodical print media. They differ, first of all, in their material design, representing a publication in the form of a block of printed sheets fastened in a spine. The magazines publish articles, essays, studies, various works of art and visual materials. As a rule, headings exist in magazines; they appear after a certain period of time (once a week, a month, or several times a year).
A newsletter is a periodical whose specificity is characterized in that it contains information of an exclusively official nature. Using a newsletter, the organization informs others about its activities.
Most often, newsletters are:
- reference (they contain reference materials, which are arranged in an order convenient for search, for example, alphabetical);
- advertising contains information about specific events, services or products with the aim of advertising them and creating increased demand;
- The newsletter-chronicle includes reports on the work of the publishing institution.
Another common publication of periodicals is the calendar, although, most often, it is issued only once a year. This is a directory in which a consistent list of days, weeks and months is presented, as well as information related to specific dates or information of a popular scientific and reference nature.
History of periodicals
One of the most popular periodicals is the newspaper. Their historical predecessors are news reports that circulated in ancient Rome about the events that took place in the city. These were scrolls that corresponded by hand, and then hung out on large squares or delivered to the first persons of the city. It could also be wooden planks, on which a chronicle of the events that took place was recorded. The news was unofficial.
The first printed newspaper on the planet was the Capital's Herald, which began to be published in China in the 8th century. It published decrees of the emperor, information about important events. Newspapers were printed from boards on which hieroglyphs were carved, and after that they covered them with ink and made prints.
Invention of the printing press
The real revolution in the production of periodicals was the invention by the German Johannes Guttenberg of the print press, which occurred in the 1450s. He allowed to reproduce texts and images, without using the services of scribes. Using the Guttenberg printing press, text or illustration was transferred onto paper or any other material through a colorful printing form.
In its present form, newspapers began to appear from the 16th century. Then the word "newspaper" appeared, that was the name of the small Italian coin, which was paid for a newsletter in Venice. It is believed that it was here that the world's first news agency appeared, the profession of a journalist who searched for information and wrote news arose.
European seal
Very similar to modern newspapers was the French edition of La Gazette, which has been published since 1631. Its circulation exceeded a thousand copies, while the political influence was so great that some materials for the newspaper were written by the king of France, Louis XIII, and Cardinal Richelieu.
La Gazette was of great importance for the development of this type of media, since it was the first time paid ads were published in it. Soon, paid advertisements began to be published in the English press, and King Charles II even placed an advertisement for the loss of his beloved dog. After about 50 years, Daniel Defoe initiated political journalism, starting work in the weekly Review of Government Affairs.
It is believed that periodicals originated in Europe in 1605. It was then that the first newspaper opened in Strasbourg. Its editor was the typographer Johann Carolus, who had previously produced manuscript newspapers. The first surviving newspaper dates from January 1609. It was called Aviso and was produced at WolfenbĂĽttel. It published the news of Rome, Antwerp, Vienna, Prague, Cologne.
An important role in the development of the press was played by German newspapers. It is interesting that the location of the news material did not depend on the importance of the event, but on the day the information arrived in the editorial office, therefore the latest news was always printed on the front page, although they were not always the most important.
The news itself was almost never commented on, presented without rubrics and, in fact, without any order, for example, political events went along with rumors and unreliable sensations.
In the middle of the XVII century German newspapers appeared in Germany, a little later the publication with the same frequency began to appear in France and England.
American newspapers
The first newspapers in America appeared only in 1690. Public Occupancy issue published in Boston. The publication contained a large number of attacks on the Indians who fought on the side of the British against the French. The newspaper fully reflected the interests and ideas about the world of its publisher Benjamin Harris, who had previously published a yellow newspaper in England, which consisted of low-grade sensations and gossip. It all ended when he was sent to prison after a provocative note about a fictional Catholic conspiracy against the British. Upon his release, he was forced to emigrate to America.
The Massachusetts authorities immediately spoke out against this newspaper, so the publication was immediately closed. The next newspaper in the colonies appeared only after 14 years.
The real newspaper boom in the world began in the 19th century. Newspapers have become centers of social and political life in most European countries. In the XX century, periodicals successfully developed, changing due to the emergence of electronic media (radio and television). Realizing the impossibility of competing in efficiency with them, newspapers began to make the main bet on a detailed analysis of events, collecting comments, applications that contained local news and announcements.
At the end of the 20th century, most of the ads went on the Internet, newspapers around the world began to experience a crisis. Many switched to a tabloid format, which allowed them to save paper, while attracting young readers with emotional, short and bright materials. But after all, it was young people who for many years remained unreached by conservative publications. But even the tabloid format did not become a panacea for most newspapers, as it did not always bring the desired economic effect. Now most newspapers are in search of new forms of attracting advertisers and readers, trying to present materials as original as possible.
In the XXI century, the only manuscript newspaper on the planet is published, it is called "Musalman". It is released in India in Urdu. The editorial staff has six employees, four of whom are calligraphers. Her sample is propagated using a printing press. The newspaper was published in the Indian city of Chennai, starting in 1927. The newspaper has four pages, the first devoted to international and state news, two more to local, and the last to sports.
The birth of a newspaper in Russia
The initiator of the appearance of the first public newspaper in Russia was Emperor Peter I. The Russian ruler signed a decree on this at the end of 1702. Starting January 13, 1703, the first Russian newspaper, called Vedomosti, began to appear relatively regularly.
It was printed either in Moscow or in St. Petersburg. First, Church Slavonic, and then mainly in civilian type. Its first editor was Fedor Polikarpovich Polikarpov-Orlov, who led the Moscow Printing House, he also wrote most of the materials for the newspaper. Among the first literary workers of this first periodical in the country, it should be noted Yakov Sinyavich and Boris Volkov.
It should be admitted that Vedomosti appeared irregularly, their circulation ranged from 150 to four thousand copies.
Periodicals in modern Russia
In modern Russia, the newspaper remains the most widespread and popular print publication. In total, almost 27.5 thousand of such publications are registered in the country. However, only 14 thousand of them are constantly published.
A distinctive feature of the Russian media is that they are independent not so much legally as socially, that is, they are almost completely divorced from readers. The vast majority of publications do not respond to readers ’letters in any way, don’t support“ feedback ”with them, they don’t study their popularity, they don’t try to satisfy their readers’ needs, they offer only their own vision of events taking place in the country and the world.
Due to this, there is a gradual decrease in readership interest in newspapers. Newspapers are not very interested in the needs of readers, since most of them are financed from budgets of different levels, so circulation and sales do not affect their financial condition.
This situation is observed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in which the newspaper remained the main source of information. Since the 1990s, television has begun to actively supplant the newspaper, and now the Internet is doing it. If in 1990, according to surveys, only 4% of residents did not read newspapers in Russia, then by 2006 their number had increased to 30 percent.
At the same time, the total audience of daily newspapers remains relatively large - about 6.5 million people, and weekly publications - about 14 million readers.
In recent years, the popularity of magazines. Their audience is more than 36 million people, the most popular are TV guides, fashion magazines and women's magazines.
Subscription
Periodicals are often delivered by subscription. This is a method that was especially common in Soviet times. A subscription is a collection of a pre-order for a periodical, most often a newspaper or magazine, but there are also subscriptions to book editions consisting of several volumes or other popular information products that are periodically updated.
The subscription provides the reader with a regular supply of periodicals. For the publisher, this is a guarantee that his product will be paid, it’s easier to plan the circulation of the publication.
In Russia, subscription to magazines and newspapers is carried out at post offices, as well as directly through the editorial offices themselves and through alternative subscription agencies. Distribution of periodicals and subscription is also carried out by public distributors in enterprises, educational institutions, and various institutions. In recent years, online catalogs have become popular, this is the most convenient way for readers.
In Soviet times, the delivery of periodicals by subscription amounted to 86 percent of the total circulation of media in the country. Subscription to books issued in specialized stores, which had departments of subscription publications.
Today, the subscription to periodicals has declined significantly. The popularity of newspapers and magazines is declining; there are fewer and fewer willing to subscribe. In subscription catalogs, the code for periodicals is OKPD 2. It includes the category of magazines and periodicals.
Subscription periodicals are regulated by a federal government decree of 2001. It spells out the procedure for drawing up an agreement to subscribe to a magazine or newspaper, as well as the responsibility that publishers, the editor and distributors bear in case of violation of the terms of delivery.
Subscription and delivery of periodicals is carried out by employees of the Russian Post.
Modern technologies
Today, print newspapers are becoming less and less popular, but at the same time their impact on public consciousness remains significant. Today, few people remember about OKPD of periodicals in the Russian Post branches, because most modern newspapers open their offices on the Internet. The network has both individual online publications and versions of print newspapers and magazines. Often access to them is possible by subscription, which must be issued separately.
News sites, which are registered as mass media , enjoy all the rights of the media, that is, they receive accreditation for events, request information from authorities, use the corresponding benefits when paying insurance premiums, and are entitled to state support.
On the Internet pages of traditional media publish materials that appear in print media. According to the latest VTsIOM polls, about 16 percent of Russians read newspapers and magazines on the Internet daily. Almost half of the respondents prefer online versions of newspapers and magazines to their printed counterparts. Now all domestic mass periodicals have their own pages on the Internet.