SERVICE-ORIENTED MAGAZINES

Service-oriented magazines are those magazines produced primarily for military personnel (active duty, reserve and retired), military dependents and Department of Defense (DoD) civilian employees. That is not to say that these publications have no readers outside their targeted audience. Many of the service-oriented magazines are read with interest by such people as educators, contractors, former military personnel and "friends of the services," such as Navy League members.

However, Navy journalists writing for these magazines should remember to direct their articles to the primary audience. Service-oriented magazines may be compared with the special interest publications in the consumer magazine class. They are directed at a specific group of readers with a common interest (concern about the military establishment). Some of these magazines are intended for readers in all the armed forces (Defense News), while others are directed at a single service (the Navy's All Hands). Still other service-oriented magazines are published for a select group within a broad specific group. Examples of this type of magazine include The Navy Supply Corps Newsletter and Mech. These publications could also be compared with trade journals in the company publications class.

Service-oriented magazines are generally divided into the following three categories:

Internal

Association-produced

Commercial enterprise

While most government agencies and all of- the military services produce publications for their people, here we are concerned only with those published for the Navy. Therefore, all References in this manual to internal magazines are only to those produced for an audience connected directly with the Navy. These internal magazines include publications produced by the DoD, Department of the Navy (DON) and individual naval commands. These publications can also include any magazine published by a command in another branch of service if at least one of the Navy's publics is apart of its targeted audience.

Internal

Internal magazines are financed with appropriated, or in some cases, nonappropriated funds. They are issued periodically - most are monthly publications - and contain no advertising. They are distributed free to their intended readers throughout the fleet. However, these publications are available to anyone in or out of the service and may be obtained at prescribed subscription rates. Internal magazines are edited (except for articles submitted by outside sources) and written by military personnel and civilian employees of the federal government.

Examples of internal magazines are All Hands (mentioned earlier), Link, a quarterly magazine dealing with enlisted personnel information, and Navy Family Lifeline, a newsletter of educational and informational articles and feature stories of special interest to spouses and families.

Association-Produced

Association-produced magazines are serviceoriented periodicals sponsored primarily by associations interested in the military establishment and the individual services. In most instances, these publications are written and edited either by employees of the DoD or privately employed individuals. Most magazines in this category carry advertising to help with their financing.

Examples of association-produced magazines are Proceedings, sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute, and Sea Power, sponsored by the Navy League of the United States.

Commercial Enterprise

Commercial enterprise magazines are those published by private enterprises. They are financed by advertisers who want to reach a military audience.

Examples of commercial enterprise magazines are National Defense, Military Living, Off-Duty, and the Times Magazine. Magazines in this category are also listed with the special interest publications group in the consumer magazines class.

Commercial enterprise and internal magazines provide the most probable markets for most Navy stories. However, all possible markets should be considered when you are developing a story idea