Nouveau: A Feminist Magazine Launch

The following thesis is a combination of research on the history of feminism and magazines in America and a business plan with accompanying prototype for the launch of a feminist magazine called Nouveau. The research took several months to complete with the business plan and prototype requiring approximately one additional academic year to finish. Based on research and general knowledge of the magazine publishing industry, I found that there is a niche in feminist publications waiting to be filled; Nouveau, which aims to redefine feminism for young professional women, will fill that niche by presenting women with the option of a feminist publication that is subtle, real and inoffensive. The prototype following the research contains both concrete editorial content and a minimal amount of dummy text. The editorial content is a result of an academic year’s worth of work - they are actual stories with content based on real interviews, research and reporting. The dummy text is an attempt to illustrate how the space would be filled in the launched magazine in departments such as Letters to the Editor that currently have no content. The rest of the editorial content is an attempt to show the subject matter that will appear in the launched magazine. The feature “Hooked” was inspired by the work of Laura Sessions-Stepp, staff writer for The Washington Post, and is an expose on the world of “hooking up” among college students. It is primarily set in Oxford, Miss, due to immediate availability of resources. “Madonnas and Whores” is a research-based piece looking at the past and present treatment of women in the print news media. “The Glass Ceiling” is a research-based look at continuing discrimination against women in the workplace