Take-Away: The Production and Consumption of Service Journalism Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Journalism, School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University By Laurie J. Mackenzie © Laurie J. Mackenzie, 2010 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-68665-2 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-68665-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extra its substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. •+• Canada Abstract This thesis argues that service journalism is a distinct form of journalism with identifiable components that has evolved largely within the context of women's magazines. This thesis also argues that service journalism has been socially constructed, produced and consumed. It draws from a range of conceptual approaches, a case study of Canadian Living magazine, and primary research involving interviews with producers and a content analysis of service journalism in Canadian Living to develop a functional and conceptual understanding of the genre. Particular attention is paid to the expectation of action associated with service journalism. Research findings suggest producers of service journalism do not currently assess if readers take action as a result of the reading, although research findings conclude that readers do take action, particularly within the context of the social construction of the feminine ideal. These findings provide important lessons for the study and practice of journalism. n Acknowledgments I would like to convey my thanks to the School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University, particularly Professor Barbara Freeman, for reassurance that journalists do successfully manoeuvre academia, and Professor Peter Johansen, for welcoming my research with open-armed enthusiasm. Thanks to my MJ2 cohort for their camaraderie and collegial encouragement: Ebere Ahanihu, Arthur Asiimwe, Yolande Cole, Ignatius Kabagambe, Gaaki Kigambo, Amanda Pfeffer and Carolina Quixada. Sincere and grateful thanks to my supervisor, Professor Kirsten Kozolanka. Her guidance, empathy, pragmatism and quick reading are all qualities that facilitated a creative environment within which I was able to write a thesis of which I am proud. Thanks to the people of Canadian Living, who first introduced me to the marvels of service journalism and openly shared their insight, memories and valuable knowledge. Special thanks to my mother for keeping an almost complete archive of Canadian Living in her basement. Despite years of urging her to throw them out, she showed her unconditional love by not saying "I told you so" when I asked if I could have them. And thanks to my partner in life, James. When we first met, I quietly shared my hope of going back to school one day, a hope I had been cradling in the palm of my spirit. With James by my side, this journey was possible. A thank-you does not satisfy the gratefulness I wish to express for his tireless support and loving-kindness: listening to my trepidations after that first graduate class, bringing me glasses of pink water while I wrote and revised, littering the apartment with notes with thesis scribbled in black, patiently reading draft after draft as if it were the first time and cheering with gleeful praise at each little victory along the way. Thank you, dream man. iii Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents iv List of Figures vi Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Rationale and research questions 3 Conceptual framework 4 Methodology and limitations 9 Structure of thesis 14 Chapter 2: History of Service Journalism 18 The evolution of women's magazines 20 Influences on the evolution of service j ournalism 25 Laying the foundation for modern service journalism 30 Conclusion 32 Chapter 3: Functional and Conceptual Perspectives on Service Journalism 34 Functional perspectives on service journalism 36 Conceptual perspectives on service journalism 47 • Grievance and risk 49 • Attention economy 54 Conclusion 58 Chapter 4: Service Journalism and Social Constructionism 61 Social constructionism in women's magazines 63 Social construction of the feminine ideal 65 Social construction of motherhood 73 Reader agency and the interpretation of texts 78 Conclusion 81 iv Chapter 5: Service Journalism in Canadian Living 83 The Canadian magazine market 85 The (short) story of Canadian Living 87 The Canadian Living reader 94 The producer-consumer relationship 100 Conclusion 103 Chapter 6: The Production and Consumption of Canadian Living 104 The production of service j ournalism in Canadian Living 106 Content analysis: Methodology 114 Content analysis: Understanding production and consumption 118 • Action in parenting features 124 • Motherhood in features 127 • Action in Letters to the Editor 129 Conclusion 138 Chapter 7: Conclusion 140 Research findings 143 Implications 145 Future research 146 References 149 Books, articles and documents 149 Interviews 153 v List of Figures Figure 3.1: Example of Service Journalism 40 Figure 3.2: EyeTracking the News - Prototype 1 42 Figure 3.3: EyeTracking the News - Prototype 2 43 Figure 3.4: EyeTracking the News - Prototype 3 44 Figure 6.1: Comparing Total Page Count and Total Number of Features, 119 October 1976-2005 Figure 6.2: Breakdown of Features, March and October, 1976-2005 120 Figure 6.3: Comparing Total, Food and Parenting Features, 123 October 1976-2005 Figure 6.4: Primary Action Prescribed in Parenting Features 124 Figure 6.5: Average Number of Words in Headlines/Decks 126 Figure 6.6: Proportional Presence of Interest in Letters to the Editor, 129 March and October, 1976-2005 Figure 6.7: Presence of Subj ects in Full-Page Advertisements, 130 March and October, 1980, 1990, 2000 Figure 6.8: Comparing Interest in Subjects in Letters with Presence of 131 Subjects in Features and Ads Figure 6.9: Proportional Presence of Action in Letters to the Editor, 133 March and October, 1976-2005 vi Chapter 1 Introduction Service journalism is a highly prevalent form of journalism. Service journalism is in newspapers and on the Internet, television and radio, but it is especially present in magazines. Three of the top five revenue-generating magazines in Canada in 2008 were service magazines. Total revenue for Chatelaine, which topped the list, was $56.5 million. The remaining four in the top five were Canadian Living, Reader's Digest, Maclean's and Canadian House and Home (Ursi, 2009). Service journalism has been popular since the late-nineteenth century. Ladies' Home Journal, commonly considered to be the formula upon which modern women's service magazines are based, was first published in 1883. Chatelaine, one of the most successful service magazines in Canada, celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2008, which is the same year Esquire, a men's service magazine, celebrated its 75th anniversary. Despite its success and wide appeal, service journalism has not been the focus of systematic scholarly inquiry. Why has the study of journalism not engaged more systematically with service journalism? First, service journalism is most often found in magazines, and magazine journalism and its industry have been largely overlooked by journalism studies. As Holmes (2007, 510) argues, magazines are "a highly successful cultural form - yet it is a form which scholars have, with a few exceptions, tended to underestimate and overlook." It may be argued that the magazine industry is difficult to study because, as Johnson (2007, 523) argues, "publishing houses simply don't want to share information about circulation, distribution, advertising, or editorial research." Even if the magazine industry is difficult to penetrate, magazines are everywhere, making them a highly accessible cultural form. 2 Second, the journalism elite is critical of consumer magazines in general because