PSR 1: Primary Source Report on The Australian Journal
by Alana Jordan
Circulation
What can you find out about the circulation of the magazine? How would you characterise the circulation--was it limited, or popular? Can you find out if that was considered expensive?
The Australian Journal began as a weekly magazine in 1865, and transitioned into a monthly by 1869. Most critics know about it as a 19th century magazine, but Osborne’s research (2017) points out that it was also an important magazine in the 1930s to 1950s, when Ron G. Campbell was editor.
Osborne points out that during Campbell's tenure, sales rose from 30,000, to 54,000 copies per issue during the 1930s, and reached a peak of 120,000 copies by 1945 (Osborne 228). It ended in 1962.
In 1951 it was one shilling, which is equal to 12 pennies. Today a shilling would be worth almost $2
Editor
Does the magazine have the same editor for a range of time? Can you find out anything about this person? What is her or her background, education, training? If the editor writes for the magazine, what kind of things does he/she write?
One of the editors of the 19th c. period of the magazine was Mary Fortune. She was a writer of detective fiction and the first editor of the “detective album” was a section of the journal.
W.E Adcock was the editor (Osborne 227) prior to Campbell – hired Campbell after Campbell submitted a number of short stories in xxx year, was influential in making the magazine “a more respectable publication” --- when Campbell hired he stopped the
R. G. Campbell, who was a teacher prior to coming on board with the magazine first as a writer, the editor of The Australian Journal for thirty years (1926-1955) (Osborne 2016, p. 11).
After leaving the journal, he went overseas and wrote travel stories for the journal
Fig. 1 R. G. Campbell, editor of the Australian Journal, 1926–1955.
Louise Campbell Private Collection. From Osborne, Roger. ‘An Editor Regrets’
R. G. Campbell’s Australian Journal, 1926–1955
Implied Reader
After studying thoroughly a single issue of the magazine--ads, articles, stories, everything--consider its target reader implied by the magazine’s contents: age, sex, economic class, intellectual class, race, political position, and anything else that seems important
People looking for local content?
It entertained a wide variety of readers - men, women and children (Osborne 228)
Quality reading
Middlebrow – perhaps upper middlebrow
Demographic was aimed at whole families and peer groups. It also held many short stories to draw the readers into. Each issue was aimed at a particular audience to keep its viewership as wide as possible
[use data from Roger’s article and lecture?)
Contents
a. In a single issue, what kind of content gets the most pages (creative: fiction, poetry, drama, visual art, music/ critical: cultural, aesthetic, social, political/ informative: travel, biography, history, news)
The magazine was an important venue for short story writers. In its early years some
of these authors were Adam Lindsay Gordon, Henry Kendall, Marcus Clarke and
the writer of detective stories (and first editor of the “Detective’s Album”), Mary
Fortune (“Waif Wander”).
In the 1930s to 50s some of the authors who regularly contributed were Myra Morris, Jon Cleary, Robert Close, and Xavier Herbert .
How many stories per issue, or over its whole run
Some of the other stuff it tended to cover
Some sample stories?
May like to discuss “King of Luggertown” the interesting story we read an excerpt of today
--have a look at https://ajstorybook.wordpress.com/2017/01/10/for-art-and-money-vance-palmer-and-xavier-herbert/
b. Advertising: Ratio of advertising to other aspects of the text. What kind of advertising gets the most space? Anything else significant about advertising?
As Osborne points out “advertisements, promoting a wide variety of home products, remedies, and personal improvement schemes, including drawing and short story writing
Courses” could be found in the magazine’s pages (230).
c. If the magazine attends to social, political, or cultural issues, is there anything that helps you describe its position?
The Australian Journal was very influential during its time. The magazine held many fictional short stories and fashion and advertisements. The upper middle class were the aim of this magazine, as the ads could have influence over them. The poor could not afford the magazine; therefore, the ads would be of no use to them. The short stories covered all genres and ranged from topics of the Australian cities, to the Australian bush. Although, I cannot find information to state the position of the magazine, the contents inside show that there are highlights of the cultural and social issues of the time.
Format
How many average pages per issue? Did it use colour? How much? Photography? How much? How are images used? Do they illustrate stories or article? If there are illustrations, how do they make the magazine feel?
Ranging between 100 and 200 pages throughout Campbells editorship
It responded to the economic realities of publishing
Balanced advertising revenue with circulation/demand
The illustrations are bold and colourful. The front cover is illustrated to draw a particular audience in and give the sense that it is a wealthy magazine. The photography and illustrations fill the pages throughout the magazine. The magazine was 82 pages of colour, which decreased with the oncoming of television.
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