‘Securing the Suffrage of the Crowd’: George Newnes and the Million

Abstract

Describes the impact of the Million, a popular penny weekly magazine published and edited by Newnes. Established in 1892, the magazine catered to the literate masses, featuring light fiction, anecdotes, a young person’s page, correspondence and editorial pages. Its major appeal lay in the visual impact of its color pictures. Notes how the Million brought into focus many contemporary preoccupations, drawing together the discourses of New Journalism, democratization, and mass consumerism. Argues Newnes attempted to secure the interest and allegiance of a pool of potential readers by combining visual and textual innovation, an inclusive and accessible style and layout, the language of democratic consumerism, the possibility of extensive reader interaction, and the entertainment and marketing value of a popular oral cultural tradition.