Test your knowledge of magazine publishing with this simple, 10-question trivia game. It covers magazine history, magazine circulation, custom publishing and other facts about magazine publishing in America. The game was created for an event for the staff of Parthenon Publishing on Friday, March 29, 2013. (It was accompanied by beer, chips and salsa.) The winner got a $10 Starbucks gift card. Why did we do it? At Parthenon, we work hard for our clients, but we also like to have fun. To make sure we don’t “forget” to have fun, we schedule fun activities. We tried putting someone in charge of fun, but it was a lot of responsibility for one person. Now, we assign people a week to be the director of fun (this typically coincides with their week as kitchen king -- maintaining our kitchen/break room). During this week, they are responsible for coming up with an event for the company. They have a $25 budget and one hour during one business day. This game was Bobby Stark’s event. Why the quiz? As a company, we are big consumers of all kinds of media. So, while a quiz about magazines may seem at odds with “fun” we find it interesting. (At least that was Bobby’s theory.) Also, one of our core values is: we never stop learning. This was a way to combine fun with some light learning.

2. How to Play
1. You can play individually, or as a group.
2. Each question is followed by the answer (on the
next slide), so you’ll need to keep score as you go.
3. The person with the most correct answers wins.
4. Have fun!
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3. #1 Who is widely considered the first
magazine publisher in the U.S.?
a. Benjamin Franklin
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. Andrew Mellon
d. Henry Luce
e. Hugh Heffner
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4. #1 Who is widely considered the first
magazine publisher in the U.S.?
Ben Franklin published General Magazine in 1741
Franklin was actually the second
magazine publisher. Andrew
Bradford’s American Magazine
debuted 3 days before
Franklin’s. American Magazine
folded after 3 months and
General Magazine after 6.
By the end of the 1700s, more
than 100 magazines were in
circulation in the U.S.
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5. #2 What is the largest circulation
magazine in the U.S.?
a. Costco Connection
b. AARP Magazine
c. Sports Illustrated
d. National Geographic
e. Ladies’ Home Journal
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6. #2 What is the largest circulation
magazine in the U.S.?
AARP circulation: 22 million!
Largest magazine is a membership magazine.
Started publishing in 1958
Previous Name: Modern Maturity (until 2002)
Published in three major segments: 50s, 60s,
70+ with significant editorial changes, but
has dozens of additional versions to allow for
demographic targeting in its huge
circulation.
Parade has a larger circ (at 33 million), but it
is a newspaper supplement
Relatively recent circulations of other contenders:
Costco Connection 8 million, Sports Illustrated 3.1 million,
National Geographic 4.1 million, Ladies Home Journal 3.2 million
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7. #3 What is the oldest continuously published
custom magazine in the U.S.?
a. AARP magazine
b. American Way
c. The Furrow
d. National Geographic
e. Ritz-Carlton Magazine
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8. #3 What is the oldest continuously published
custom magazine in the U.S.?
John Deere created The Furrow in 1895
Purpose: to educate farmers about technology
changes they needed to understand so they
could survive and succeed.
It was important, but also complex. An
advertisement couldn’t do the job. They needed
a consistent, ongoing communication that
helped farmers be better farmers -- so they
could become better customers of John Deere.
The magazine is published in 40 countries,
with a circulation of 1.5 million
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9. #4 What was the biggest selling issue of People
magazine at the newsstand?
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10. #4 What was the biggest selling issue of People
magazine at the newsstand?
Stolley’s Laws of Magazine Covers
Young is better than old
Pretty is better than ugly
Rich is better than poor
Movies are better than television
Movies and television
are better than music
Movies, TV and music are
all better than sports
Anything is better than politics
And nothing is better than the celebrity dead.
Dick Stolley joined Time Inc. in 1953 and retired in 2005. He was a writer, bureau chief,
senior editor and managing editor of Time magazine. He was managing editor of Life
Magazine, and made history when he secured the rights the Zapruder footage immediately
following JFK's assassination. He was also a founding editor of People.
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11. #5 When was it born? Match the magazine with
the year it was founded.
1923 1987 1932 1892 1859
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12. #5 When was it born? Match the magazine with
the year it was founded.
1859 1892 1987 1923 1932
Historical Covers
1915 1926 1995 1923 1938
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13. #6 Match the magazine to its mission
statement.
With culture-affecting editorial that has the
power to launch phenomena, coin phrases, define
decades, start movements and endorse
demographics, this is where the conversations
start.
Inspire a new breed of
innovative and creative Test,
thought leaders who are inform,
actively inventing the future protect
of business.
the premiere resource for information on
management trends, innovations, market
strategies, and organizational development for
more than 40,000 healthcare executives and
senior decision-makers
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14. #6 Match the magazine to its mission
statement.
Inspire a new breed of innovative
Test,
and creative thought leaders who
inform,
are actively inventing the future
protect
of business.
the premiere resource for information on management With culture-affecting
editorial that has the
trends, innovations, market strategies, and
power to launch
organizational development for more than 40,000
healthcare executives and senior decision-makers phenomena, coin phrases,
define decades, start
movements and endorse
Mission statements are essential. demographics, this is
where the conversations
They explain who the magazine serves and what it delivers. start.
Ideally, it also contains the desired outcome. They serve as a
filter for the development of all content going forward.
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15. #7 According to Samir Husni (aka Mr. Magazine),
how many magazines were launched in 2012?
a. 246
b. 387
c. 688
d. 870
e. 1126
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16. #7 According to Samir Husni (aka Mr. Magazine),
how many magazines were launched in 2012?
d. 870
There were 870 new titles on newsstands in
2012, with 242 publishing regularly.
This was the best year since 2007, when 715
new titles launched, 248 of them publishing
regularly.
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17. #8 What is the breakdown of magazine
distribution between newsstand (single
copy) and subscription?
a. 10% single copy; 90% subscription
b. 25% single copy; 75% subscription
c. 50% single copy; 50% subscription
d. 75% single copy; 25% subscription
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18. #8 What is the breakdown of magazine
distribution between newsstand (single
copy) and subscription?
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19. #9 What is the average percentage breakdown of
editorial and advertising pages in a magazine?
a. 35% ads; 65% editorial
b. 45% ads; 55% editorial
c. 55% ads; 45% editorial
d. 65% ads; 35% editorial
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20. #9 What is the average percentage breakdown of
editorial and advertising pages in a magazine?
b. 45% ads; 55% editorial
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21. #10 What publication, first associated with Ben
Franklin, became one of the first successful
mass market magazines in the 20th
century?
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22. #10 What publication, first associated with Ben
Franklin, became one of the first successful
mass market magazines in the 20th
century?Pennsylvania Gazette became the Saturday Evening Post
Franklin bought the Gazette in
1729 and contributed to it,
often under aliases. It ceased
publication 10 years after
Franklin’s death, but was then
bought and renamed the
Saturday Evening Post in 1821.
The Post became the most
widely circulated weekly
magazine with a circulation of 6
million in 1960. It ceased regular
publication in 1969.
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23. About the Parthenon Magazine Trivia Game
The game was created by Bobby Stark as an activity for Parthenon staffers on Friday, March 29,
2013. (It was accompanied by beer, chips and salsa.) The winner was Parthenon Strategist Andy
Hobbs. He walked away with the grand prize of a $10 Starbucks giftcard.
Why do this? We work hard for our clients, but we also like to have fun. To make sure we don’t
“forget” to have fun, we schedule fun activities. We tried putting someone in charge of fun, but
it was a lot of responsibility for one person. Now, we assign people a week to be the director of
fun (this typically coincides with their week as kitchen king -- maintaining our kitchen/break
room). During this week, they are responsible for coming up with an event for the company. They
have a $25 budget and one hour during one business day. This game was Bobby’s event.
Why the quiz? As a company, we are big consumers of all kinds of media. So, while a quiz about
magazines may seem at odds with “fun” we find it interesting. (At least that was Bobby’s
theory.) Also, one of our core values is: we never stop learning. This was a way to combine fun
with some light learning.
Regarding the quiz facts: all information was obtained by what were believed to be reliable sources, including memory. Numbers (especially circulations)
change and may no longer be accurate. Please remember, this is a game, not a textbook. However, if there are items we’ve gotten wrong, we would like to
hear about them so they can be corrected and we do not promote inaccurate information.
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24. CONTACT INFO
Bobby Stark
Email: Bobby.Stark@parthenonpub.com
President
Phone: 615-627-2212
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbystark
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bobby.stark
Twitter; http://twitter.com/bobbystark
Contact Us Address Social
Phone: 615.627.2200 102 Woodmont Boulevard LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/parthenon-publishing
Email: bobby@parthenonpub.com Suite 450 Facebook: facebook.com/parthenon-publishing
Web: www.parthenonpub.com Nashville, Tennessee 37205
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