A magazine targeted toward college women is in the works. The magazine will cover topics such as fashion, food, music, film, books, sports, electronics, decorating, lifestyle, entertainment, design and travel.
“This magazine is not about news,” said Mark Mayfield, associate director of the Office of Student Media. “It’s about features, it’s about lifestyle, it’s about the buzz in the fashion world, the buzz in entertainment.”
Mayfield said the goal is to target this specific demographic because it often falls through the cracks.
Paul Wright, director of the Office of Student Media, said people in their late teens to mid-20s don’t necessarily have a magazine specifically geared to them, with Seventeen being too young and Cosmo generally aiming at an older audience.
“We want it to be edgy and a little irreverent, taking some chances,” Mayfield said. “I guess you could say a mix of Vogue and Buzzfeed.”
Chandler Moore, a senior majoring in interior design and journalism, said she is excited about the prospects of this magazine.
“Sometimes we are overwhelmed by the perfection of lifestyle bloggers, and Pinterest meals, that we don’t know how to incorporate those things into our age demographic,” she said. “I think this magazine can bridge the gap between 30-something post grad style and 20-something throw it together style.”
Wright and Mayfield said they are contemplating giving the magazine a feminine name so it will have its own personality. The editors, in effect, will take on this persona as a confidant and role model. Reading the magazine will be like asking for advice from a friend on her favorite products, music, books, stores, and restaurants.
“I would love to see profiles of the local shops, designers, and artists that perhaps go unnoticed by students,” Moore said. “Magazines are a pastime, a stress reliever, a way to slow down from the day to day rush of class.”
Wright and Mayfield have come together to work on this project. Wright said he looked at new ideas for student media and Mayfield, with a background in magazines, said he thought the idea of a publication targeted at college girls was desired on campus. They especially thought a magazine about culture would be most successful.
“As the prospect, so to speak, for the newspaper start to get worse over time, as with all newspapers, we start looking at other ways to offer experience as well as generating revenue for the department,” Wright said.
The Media Planning Board approved the idea and has let them move forward in the planning process.
An informational meeting was held at the Office of Student Media Thursday at 6 p.m. for those interested in contributing to the magazine. Approximately 60 students were in attendance. The meeting helped Mayfield and Wright gather ideas and learn what it is college girls want to read about. It was open to everyone and was not exclusive to journalism majors or women. A second interest meeting will follow in the coming weeks.
“We’re trying to get people from all across campus involved who might not typically be involved with student media,” Mayfield said.
Very few details have been finalized at this time. It is not clear yet if the magazine will be sold or free. Ad revenue will help fund the publication. In the future, they would like to compensate students who contribute, but at this time they have yet to produce a business model for a budget.
The plan is to have the first issue completed at the beginning on the fall 2015 semester. It will start with editions coming out once a semester, and could grow to release more frequently. Each edition will be available in print and online.
“It’s an exciting new venture for us,” Wright said. “It’s an area that we haven’t gotten into yet. So obviously it’s an area we feel we can offer students a different experience in than what we offer now.”
