Boston magazine

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Boston (almost invariably called "Boston magazine" and often incorrectly written as "Boston Magazine") is a glossy monthly magazine concerning life in the Greater Boston area and has been in publication for more than 40 years.^[1]

1 Characteristics
2 Best of Boston
3 Advertisers
4 Ancillary publications
5 Business relationships
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Characteristics

The following quote from its publishers, while more effusive in tone than the magazine itself, is indicative of both the magazine's purview and its editorial viewpoint:

Sophisticated, intellectual, and full of charm, Boston is a world center of higher education, medicine, finance, and biotechnology, with some of the nation's leading cultural institutions, best restaurants, trendiest shopping, top universities, and smartest people. Then there's the other Boston: a city of power struggles, politics, expensive real estate, and cutting-edge music and arts.^[2]

This same source notes the magazine's population at one half-million per month, its percentage of newsstand copies sold as among the highest of any magazine of any kind in the United States, and it has named among the three best city magazines in the nation seven times in the last eight years by the City and Regional Magazine Association.^[3]

[edit] Best of Boston

"Best of Boston" (registered trademark of the magazine) is an award given by Boston magazine in an annual issue which is "the definitive guide to the city’s finest".

This award is given in a wide range of categories that vary from year-to-year. Recent awards include best clam chowder, cookware, day spa, gym, jewelry store, martini, mojito, pizza topping, shiatsu, teeth whitening, thai food, and many more. The Best of Boston awards tend to be very specific; this year's award for best nightclub was given in the sub-categories of dance, gay, lesbian, jazz, live music (small) and live music (large).^[4]

Many popular area businesses (and some private homes) display these awards proudly, either in the form of a simple certificate or an engraved plaque.

Besides this annual award, Boston magazine regularly runs features which quantify some local resource such as "best high schools, public and private."

[edit] Advertisers

A look at Boston magazine's advertisers gives an idea of its target audience. A typical issue reveals a preponderance of ads for high-end businesses as well as a few generally affordable product venues. One example issue (Sept. 2002) has full-page ads for the following:

[edit] Ancillary publications

Boston magazine produces several ancillary publications:

Concierge is a quarterly publication geared primarily towards visitors to the Boston area.
New England Travel & Life is an annual publication akin to the main magazine's "Best of Boston" issue except it covers all six New England states.
Home & Garden is a quarterly publication geared towards home owners and other people with an interest in interior design, landscaping, and so on.
Elegant Wedding is a biannual publication for wedding planners and brides-to-be.

[edit] Business relationships

Boston magazine has been owned by the Philadelphia-based company Metrocorp (sometimes rendered in camel case as "MetroCorp") since 1971.^[5]
WCVB-TV Channel 5, WBZ NewsRadio and MAGIC 106.7 collaborate and cross-promote with Boston magazine.^[6]
Boston magazine is a member of the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME).^[7]