1980s: Print Culture

The publishing industry was very much affected by the trends affecting other areas of popular culture in the 1980s—the concentration of power in large corporations and the public thirst for status through consumption. The concentration of power in publishing took two forms. First, the number of book publishers decreased as large publishers bought up smaller ones. These big publishing houses were driven by profit, so they tended to publish books by known writers and offered fewer chances to new talent. They also tended to be engaged in publishing magazines, music, and videos, so they often looked for ideas that could be cross-promoted. Second, booksellers also got bigger. Small, independent book stores were pushed out of business by large chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders. These book chains worked hand in hand with the big publishers to promote the most popular authors; increasingly, they also offered music, wrapping paper, coffee, and other gifts.

These changes in the publishing and selling market helped shape what was published. The biggest sellers were called "blockbusters" because they were written by big-name authors like Stephen King (1947–), Danielle Steel (1947–), Robert Ludlum (1927–2001), or James Michener (1907–1997), whose works promised to sell. Many of these books were sold with built-in movie or television deals.

The wealth and thirst for status that were associated with the decade also became subjects of fiction. A set of young authors made a big splash with books that both glamorized and condemned the thirst for drugs, brand-name goods, and business success of the decade's young urban professionals (yuppies). Bright Lights, Big City (1984) by Jay McInerney (1955–) and Less Than Zero (1985) by Bret Easton Ellis (1964–) were two of the best-known such books. The Bonfire of the Vanities (1987), by noted "new journalist" Tom Wolfe (1931–), was the sensation of the decade, however. The Bonfire of the Vanities was serialized (divided into parts and published in succeeding issues) in Rolling Stone magazine. The book simultaneously satirized Wall Street greed, the American legal system, and glory-hungry black activists.

Magazines and newspapers also changed in the 1980s. The big news among newspapers was the introduction of USA Today in 1982. The first national newspaper started slowly but soon stole readers from major city papers and pioneered new styles of journalism. Magazines, on the other hand, continued to grow more and more specialized. Once there had been just two fashion magazines; in the 1980s, fashion magazines were started for hip teens (Sassy), middle-aged women (Mirabella), older women (Lears), and even plus-sized women (It's Me). Other specific markets were targeted by magazines, including young black males, Hispanics, college students, food enthusiasts, and sports fans of all sorts. It seems that in the 1980s there was a magazine for every market. Not surprisingly, because each market is limited to a certain kind of reader, most such magazines published for only a few years.