Magazine Case Study

Niel Singo
 Smash Hits
 Smash Hits was a
fortnightly pop magazine
which unfortunately
wasn’t successful. It ran
from 1978 to 2006 but
returned for a one-off
Michael Jackson tribute
magazine
 The name is still used as
a digital radio station and
a spin-off TV channel.
 The website survived the
fall of the magazine also.
 It was aimed at children
and young teenagers
How it started
 Smash hits was founded by a man called
Nick Logan in 1977
 The first issue was published in November
1978 and featured Blondie on the cover.
 The publication was monthly at first but
switched to fortnightly after only three
issues because of its success This
remained until the magazine failed.
 One of the magazines major selling points
was the top 20 song lyrics sectioin
Peak

 The magazines peak was in the

1980s. This launched the career
of many journalists and even
boosted some popstars
because of the publicity shown
in the magazine.
Last Years
 In the 90s other magazines came along such as top of the
pops and proved to be better so business went down.
 Many different versions of the magazine were produced in
other countries but they were licensed so no money went
back to the original magazine creators.
 The Publishers (EMAP) also has a television channel,
website and radio show which require more attention. The
magazine had to be cut because it wasn’t bringing in
enough money.
 In February 2006 it was announced that the magazine
would stop being printed after 13 February because there
wasn’t enough sales.
 In July 2009 a the magazine came back for a one off issue
in tribute to Michael Jackson after his death
 Conclusion – Smash Hits
Magazine Failed Because

 It had competition with other magazines

 Counterfeit magazines were made and thus
caused the company to lose money due to the
fact that people were buying the counterfeit
 It wasn’t bringing in enough money so the
publishers scrapped it.