Magazines: Fact or Fiction?

Question: The earliest known magazine was German and was named Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen.

Answer: Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen translates to “Edifying Monthly Discussions” and was a scholarly magazine.

Question: The first American magazine was actually called American Magazine.

Answer: American Magazine was founded by Andrew Bradford in 1741.

Question: Around the 1900s, less-expensive magazines began to appeal to a broader audience than the “quality” magazines before.

Answer: It was in the 1830s, with easier printing, that less-expensive magazines began to appear.

Question: Reader’s Digest was founded in 1955 by DeWitt Wallace.

Answer: Reader’s Digest was actually founded in 1922.

Question: When the multicolor rotary press was developed in the 1890s, color magazines became common.

Answer: Color in magazines was largely introduced and influenced by advertisers.

Question: The first magazine in India was published not by Indians but by the British.

Answer: As a result of British imperialism, the first known magazines were created by the invading British.

Question: The first magazines were mostly based on gossip.

Answer: Some of the first magazines were scholarly journals that copied discussions for learned individuals.