Pressed for Print: Female Star of Print

In an age of growth and change of common thought, the surge of feminism has risen again, as it had in the early 1900’s and the 1960-70’s. Except instead of bra burning, there are Lenny Letters and social media. Women have always be oppressed, limited, or not respected in many different environments, especially the professional fields (or at least considerably compared to men). This is also true in media and print. However, women are growing, changing, evolving, and calling out for change. But not just asking for it- doing something about it.

Questions have arisen- are women being underrepresented in these fields of media (read about it here)? Thankfully, I believe this is not the case. Women in print forms of media have and will be changing everything. From the past and present, here are some of the boldest and brightest females in the game.

Anna Wintour

• age- 67
• occupation- Editor-In-Chief of Vogue

Anna Wintour is a British journalist, icon, personality, and Editor-In-Chief of Vogue, a highly famous and critically acclaimed fashion magazine based in America. Working her way through the ranks at multiple high end and large magazines companies, she took over Vogue in 1988 (her first cover is shown in the header picture, being held by American supermodel and icon Gigi Hadid) and revamped the dying publication.  feminist icon and inspiration to women aspiring to make it in facing and journalism, she encourages change and new ideas. She often, despite much criticism, uses this platform to take a stance on issues outside fashion, like, politics and human rights

Margaret Fuller

• life- 1810-1850 (40 years)
• occupation- teacher, journalist, activist

Known as “The Most Well Read Woman of New England”, she used her knowledge, education, and power of the print to stand for women’s rights like voting. She became one of the first female editors ever for The Dial and a foreign corespondent. An excellent writer and a respected critic, she was known for her fiery personality and sharp tongue. Her seminal publication, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, is known as one of the first works on feminism in the U.S. published.

Pauline Phillips 

• life- 1918-2013 (98 years)
• advice columnist

Known as Abigail Van Buren to readers, Phillips was adored and celebrated as one of the best and most famous advice columnists for the popular Dear Abby column, which debuted in the San Fransisco Chronicle in 1956. Many letters, covering topics considered sensitive for that time, such as, divorce, homosexuality, sexual abhorrence, pro-choice, and domestic violence were not published, but she took it upon her to respond to them personally. She would even call the reader and give advice if she felt they were suicidal or hopeless. Even today, she is recognized as a force that helped shape America’s moral conscience for over four decades.

While these women have helped us in the field more than they will ever know, their presence needs assistance in the move for professional equality. Other things are being done with print to help women, like offer free publications to help educate them on issues.

To read about more inspiring women in print, click here.

A Comparative Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Print | Free Publications For Women|Revivals): The Construction of Femininity in the Early Periodical| THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN PRINT MEDIA: ENTREPRENEURIAL WOMEN IN THE KANSAS CITY STAR

Pressed for Print: How They Are Bouncing Back From Technology

In my last article, I discussed the long and grand history of the print industry and the value of it in human history. While still important, useful, and powerful today, there is one difference from now and the days of our old friend Gutenberg- print does not stand alone now.

Who Is Print Competing Against? 

Technology, the Internet more specifically, and social media even more specifically than that, is climbing every day and has changed the game completely.

Before with print, an article for example, had to be written, sent, go through the process of printing, and then be delivered through the mail and subscriptions, the process taking anywhere from hours to days. Now, writers can compose their works on the go with their laptops, tablets, and iPhones, and instantly hit the “submit”, having their article posted to the world. Magazines, newspapers, and outlets have transferred over to online.

You now can view COSMO’s Snapchat story from the comfort of your bed, be alerted of breaking news from the CNN app from the App Store, or download the newest novel from your favorite author the minute is released onto your Kindle or iPad, without having to wait for
Barnes and Noble to open. You can now even read the Bible with your phone, and iPhones are now being pulled out during Sunday mornings, causing uproar against old school evangels.

Social media has even evolved over the past few years- with Facebook’s Trending feature on the Home page and Twitter’s even older Explore and the newer In Case You Missed It features, your own accounts can notify you immediately and you can’t and won’t miss anything important or your favorite interests.

When Did Print’s Decline Begin?

While on August 6th, 1991, the World Wide Web went live to the public, no one could guess its power it would gain in the next two and a half decades. Its evolution is unlike anything ever seen in the history of the world, even compared to big brother print industry.

One may pinpoint the time when the tides began to occur with either the beginning of the iPhone and apps, e-books, and the buyout of companies, like The Washington Post, and their merge to the Internet. For more on the decline of print, click here.

How Is Print Upping Their Game?

Print is much different from the Internet, but still must compete with it for power, control, business, and money. But the question is still to be asked- how are they changing their approach to bring people back to print?

The answer actually lies in their competitors, technology, and marketing.
Offering special deals through subscriptions of print through their online base is one technique. Digital printing is also a new frontier. According to the Minuteman Press, “With a study from the Pew Research Center last year showing that 15% of Americans do not use the internet or email, printing online information on postcards or in brochures is an excellent way to ensure that this important demographic is not overlooked.”

Print is still needed for graphics, books, labeling, and advertising. While it may not ever reach the full dominance it once had, it can still grow and change and evolve, like everything must do.

To read my sources and other cool articles and works on this topic, click the links below to learn even more:

Internet: Diameter of the World-Wide Web

Share, Like, Recommend: Decoding the Social Media News Consumer

Cracking the Code of Change- Harvard Business Review

Pressed for Print: The History of Print and Media To Now

Print media encompassed a large variety of media magazines, book publishing, newspapers specifically. Printed media is mankind’s first true form of mass media. Today, more words are being printed every second than were printed every year during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Without print, society would be arguably on a completely different course. The act of putting words via ink (or some other method of placing words and text) onto a surface such as paper or other materials is one of our simplest and most convent ways to convey thoughts and ideas.

Print (or what we in modern times would consider print) can be traced all the way back to the Father of Print, Johann Gutenberg (1400? – 1468). From a town called Mainz, Germany, this silversmith by trade invented a movable, interchangeable, re-usable type, for printing on a wooden press. Before, printing was a tedious task, with many large and complicated parts- this was the first “modern” printing machine and revolutionized
the modern world. In 1454, he completed printing the Bible in which he made 180 copies, an unbelievable feet in this time and era.

From then on out, the world would never be the same. Different forms and stylings of letters and characters were made (known as fonts) and information was extremely easy to spread compared to word of mouth.

Paper and/or printing industries became the hot business. Printing first books, then newspapers, then advertisements and magazines In 1690, the first American paper mill opens.

The Gentleman’s Magazine is published for the first time in 1731. It is generally considered to be the first general interest magazine. The publication runs uninterrupted until 1922. This is one of the first things to ever be considered printed entertainment.

 

The print industry is vast, and it is only growing. We have gone from Gutenberg to 3D printers. Most things we print are for consumption for entertainment. From novels to magazines like Cosmo and Sports Illustrated, to comic strips and books, this is more than just text and pictures on paper. It is so much more. Entertainment is a huge world of is own, and print is the
first, if not one of the most important, sectors of it.

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas Austin: Printing Yesterday and Today

British Printing Press: The History of Printing

PrePressed- The History of Print