Magazine journalist: Job description

Magazine journalists research and write news articles and features for a wide variety of periodicals, including consumer titles, business journals and trade publications. Magazines have a defined readership and focus on a specialist area or interest.

Magazine journalism can cover a range of disciplines, such as writing, sub-editing, and designing.

Increasingly, magazines are also being produced for other media, especially the web. Knowledge of the concise writing style needed for the internet and search engine optimisation are very useful skills.

There are currently around 9,000 magazine titles in the UK, according to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) . While there are plenty of opportunities, competition can be fierce when trying to secure a job in magazine journalism.

Typical work activities

The nature of a journalist's work varies considerably depending on the size of the employing organisation and the subject matter covered by the publication. It may also be affected by the medium through which the magazine is produced.

Typical activities can include:

• researching a subject and story;
• writing and editing news stories and features in the publication’s house style;
• ensuring work is well written, accurate and submitted to deadline;
• conducting interviews, either in person, over the phone or via email;
• attending seminars, conferences and fairs (some magazine publishers hold exhibitions and events to allow advertisers to meet their readership);
• generating ideas for stories;
• sourcing images to accompany written pieces;
• meeting with colleagues to plan the content of the issue and the character of the publication;
• keeping up to date with trends and developments relating to the magazine’s subject matter.

Freelance journalists spend time networking and building up relationships with publications and their staff. Self-employed freelancers also need to negotiate their own rates, bookkeep and be self-motivated. They must pitch ideas to interested publications and constantly secure new work.

On smaller magazines, the role of magazine journalist might include all of these activities plus administrative work. It may also involve an element of sub-editing, proofing your own or other writers’ copy, as well as some design work.

Many magazines have a website, and journalists may also cover the same topics for the website, but they will have to adapt their writing style for online journalism.