Mr. Magazine

Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni, founder and director, Magazine Innovation Center at The University of Mississippi. Photo by Robert Jordan/
Ole Miss Communications

The recent death of my brother-in-law brought something to mind, the fact that everyone and everything has a life cycle, people, pets, plants, and even magazines. As the Good Book reminds us:

To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.

And if I may add, there are many events, changes, birthdays, and anniversaries that make up the hyphen in between that time to be born and that time to die. And just because a baby is born or a person dies, does not mean the entire species hinges upon those two events. With one birth, does not come an entire creation of people, it’s a continuation; just as with one death does not come the end of the human race, it is the continuity of the life cycle. And so it is for magazines as well. When one title dies, it doesn’t mean the entire magazine industry has bitten the dust. When one editor resigns, one publisher dies, or just get fired, it is not the end of the magazine or the brand. It is just part of the life cycle.

That being said let us light some candles and celebrate the hyphen in between those dates for the titles listed here. Maybe the 70s group, Little River Band, said it best “Happy Anniversary, Baby,” but Mr. Magazine™ is saying it to these magazine brands as sincerely and affectionately as I know how.

Happy Anniversary to each and every title on this list, and I certainly have each one of you on my mind as I firmly say there is no better reflector of society in this country, or the world, for that matter, than magazines. And each one mentioned here has a reason to celebrate, in the often uncertain and precarious marketplace that exists in the world of magazines; not one is celebrating anything less than a 20th anniversary, and one is observing a sesquicentennial. Congratulations to one and all, and rest assured you are never far from the mind of Mr. Magazine™.

So without further ado here are magazines celebrating anniversaries this time around:

150th Anniversary

60th Anniversary

50th Anniversary

50th Anniversary

45th Anniversary

40th Anniversary

20th Anniversary