What Makes A Magazine 4 / Jeremy Leslie

No matter how great, how innovative or how new a magazine is, it is nothing without people. Whether it’s a two-man independent or a fully staffed consumer title, the personality and tone of a magazine is dictated by the character and passion of the people involved, led by the editor and art director. The partnership between these two key figures is what makes a magazine tick.

But as well as their colleagues at the magazine, the team also rely on the people out in the real world, the individuals upon whom the success or otherwise of the magazine rests.

The readers are often taken for granted when discussing magazines, but Carl*s Cars, left, puts them right to the fore, subtitling every issue ‘A magazine about people’. Like all magazines, Carl*s has its central subject area, cars, but behind this focus lies its real interest. People.