Magazines

There are countless publications in numerous categories, some national and some local, many directed at special audiences. Each magazine has its own needs, its own lead times, and its own editorial policy on news and publicity materials. By studying several issues of a magazine or consulting such references as Bacon's Magazine Directory, you can get an idea of what kind of scientific and medical developments are of specific interest to publication.

The lead time — the time required to get something into print — of most magazines precludes their covering news while it is still new. But the planning of news events or release of information should take into consideration the deadlines of weekly news magazines. At Time, Newsweek, or U.S. News & World Report, for example, a significant story available before noon on Thursday can still make the next issue, which reaches newsstands some time on Monday. On the other hand, news coming out of a news conference called for Friday would be more than a week old by the time it appeared in print — if the publication chose to cover it. A Wednesday conference permits weekly news magazines to follow within days the accounts in daily newspapers.