A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

, radio, or

television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...

, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about

current events News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...

. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than

newspapers A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

newscast News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or tele ...

s do, and aim to give the consumer an understanding of the important events beyond the basic facts.

Broadcast news magazines

Radio news magazines are similar to television news magazines. Unlike radio newscasts, which are typically about five minutes in length, radio news magazines can run from 30 minutes to three hours or more.

Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

news magazines provide a similar service to print news magazines, but their stories are presented as short television

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

rather than written articles; in contrast to a daily newscast, news magazines allow more in-depth coverage of specific topics, including current affairs,

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...

(including

hidden camera A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...

investigations), major interviews, and human-interest stories. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

'' was one of the earliest examples, premiering in 1953. In Canada, CTV premiered '' W5'' in 1966, running for 58 seasons before being cancelled in 2024 due to budget cuts by its parent company (and being repurposed as a brand for

long-form journalism Long-form journalism refers to a genre of journalism characterized by in-depth reporting and storytelling that has more substantial content than the average news report. These pieces often explore topics with greater detail, context and narrativ ...

across other

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the nationa ...

programming and platforms). It was the longest-running program of its kind in North America. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the Big Three networks all currently produce at least one weekly news magazine, including ABC's '' 20/20'',

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

's ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' and '' Sunday Morning'', and NBC's ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' (also known simply as ''Dateline'') is a weekly American television news magazine reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on ...

''; of these programs, ''60 Minutes'' typically focuses on investigative journalism, ''20/20'' and ''Dateline'' focus predominantly on

true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...

stories,''Eclipsing the Nightly News , American Journalism Review
. Ajr.org. Retrieved on 28 May 2011.'' while ''Sunday Morning'' typically focuses on human-interest stories (up to and including stories on

the arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of m ...

) and has a more relaxed tone. News magazines proliferated on network schedules in the early 1990s, as they had lower production costs in comparison to scripted programs, and could attract equivalent if not larger audiences. At the same time, newer newsmagazines—including syndicated offerings such as '' A Current Affair'', ''

Hard Copy In information handling, the U.S. Federal Standard 1037C (Glossary of Telecommunication Terms) defines a hard copy as a permanent reproduction, or copy, in the form of a physical object, of any media suitable for direct use by a person (in par ...

'' and ''

Inside Edition ''Inside Edition'' is an American tabloid television program that is distributed in Broadcast syndication, first-run syndication by CBS Media Ventures. Having premiered on January 9, 1989, it is the longest-running syndicated-newsmagazine progr ...

''—often had an

infotainment Infotainment (a portmanteau of ''information'' and ''entertainment''), also called soft news as a way to distinguish it from serious journalism or hard news, is a type of media, usually television or online, that provides a combination of inform ...

skew with a larger focus on tabloid stories (including coverage of celebrities such as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

, and the Menendez brothers and O.J. Simpson murder cases), rather than the harder journalism associated with ''60 Minutes'' and ''20/20'' at the time. CNN president Ed Turner argued that these shows had eclipsed the networks' evening newscasts as their flagship programs, at the expense of their news divisions' traditions of hard journalism.'''' By the late-1990s, ''Dateline'' would establish a niche in true crime to set it apart from its competitors—a format that would bolster its popularity, and lead the show to being on as many as five times per-week at its peak.'''' NBC experimented with other news magazines in the 2010s, including ''

Rock Center with Brian Williams ''Rock Center with Brian Williams'' is an American weekly television newsmagazine that was broadcast on NBC from October 31, 2011, to June 21, 2013 and hosted by former ''NBC Nightly News'' anchor Brian Williams. It aired on Mondays until January ...

''—a more hard news-oriented program that aired for two seasons, and '' Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly''—a short-lived primetime vehicle for the former

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

correspondent. In 2025, CBS relaunched its weekday ''

CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featu ...

'' with a more news magazine-like format, focusing on in-depth stories rather than summarizing top stories like its competitors. Some local television stations in the U.S. have produced news magazines, although they have largely been displaced by cheaper programming acquired from the syndication market. An exception is

WCVB-TV WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue in ...

in Boston, which has continued to produce the nightly news magazine ''

Chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

'' since 1982. In Brazil,

TV Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Television broadcasting, television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto M ...

's news magazine ''

Fantástico ''Fantástico'' (originally known as ''Fantástico: O Show da Vida'', Portuguese for ''Fantastic The Show of Life'') is a Brazilian weekly television news program broadcast on Sunday nights on TV Globo since August 5, 1973, created by José Bon ...

'' has aired on Sunday nights. Historically, it has been one of the top programs on Brazilian television, although its dominance is no longer as absolute as it was in the past due to competition from variety shows such as SBT's '' Programa Silvio Santos'', and from Record's competing news magazine ''Domingo Espetacular.''

Notable print news magazines

Notable TV news magazines

Australia

*''

Four Corners Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...

'' *'' Dateline'' *''

'' *'' Revealed'' *'' Sunday Night''

Canada

*'' 16×9'' *'' The Fifth Estate'' *'' Global Sunday'' *'' This Hour Has Seven Days'' *'' W5''

Italy

* *'' Ballarò'' *'' In ½ h'' * *

Mexico

Noticieros Televisa Noticieros Televisa, also branded as N+ (read as , ), is the news agency of Tritón Comunicaciones, which produces national and local news broadcasting bulletins for TelevisaUnivision's Mexican networks. It was headed by Leopoldo Gómez, vice ...

*'' On Air. with Paola Rojas'' *'' The News with Karla Iberia Sánchez'' *'' On Point. with Denise Maerker''

Philippines

* * *'' Probe'' *'' Reporter's Notebook'' * * * *'' Rated Korina'' *

United Kingdom

*'' Dispatches'' *'' Exposure'' *''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' is the BBC's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. It is broadcast weeknights at 10:30 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel; it is also avail ...

'' *'' On Assignment'' *''

'' *''

Tonight Tonight may refer to: Television * ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...

'' *''

Unreported World ''Unreported World'' is a British foreign affairs program made by ITN, ITN Productions and broadcast by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, first broadcast on 8 September 2000. Over the course of the program, reporters have travelled to dangerous ...

United States

*'' 20/20'' *''

'' *''

60 Minutes II ''60 Minutes II'' (also known as ''60 Minutes Wednesday'' and ''60 Minutes'') is an American weekly primetime news magazine television program that was intended to replicate the "signature style, journalistic quality and integrity" of the origin ...

'' *'' 48 Hours'' *'' America Now'' *'' America's Heartland'' * *''

Bill Moyers Journal ''Bill Moyers Journal'' was an American television current affairs program that covered an array of current affairs and human issues, including economics, history, literature, religion, philosophy, science, and most frequently politics. Bill M ...

'' *'' Business Nation'' *''

CBS News Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (frequently shortened to ''Sunday Morning'') is an American television newsmagazine that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and E.S. "Bud" Lamoreaux III, and originally hosted by ...

'' *'' Connie Chung Tonight'' *''

'' *'' Day One'' *'' E:60'' *''

Expose Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website * '' Exeposé'', a student-run newspaper of the University of Exeter Film and TV ...

'' *'' Eye to Eye with Connie Chung'' *'' Frontline'' *''

'' *''InvestigateTV'' *''

Now on PBS ''Now on PBS'', shown onscreen as ''NOW'', is a Public Broadcasting Service newsmagazine which aired between 2002 and 2010, focusing on social and political issues. History First airing in January 2002, and originally called ''Now with Bill Moye ...

'' *'' Now with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric'' *''

Primetime Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to b ...

'' *'' Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel'' *'' Real Life with Jane Pauley'' *''

'' *'' Saturday Night with Connie Chung'' *'' Small Town Big Deal'' *'' Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly'' *'' Turning Point'' *''

Weekend The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week, devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays (British English), or workweek (American English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most o ...

Other countries

*Brazil ** ** *Bulgaria **''

'' ** *Chile **'' Contacto'' ** *Hong Kong **''

News Magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio, or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories in greater depth than newspapers or new ...

'' (新聞透視) **'' Sunday Report'' (星期日檔案'')'' *Spain **'' BCN Week'' ** *'' European Journal'' (Belgium/Germany) * (Iceland) * (Slovenia) * (Croatia) * (Colombia) * (Germany) *'' On the Spot'' (Indonesia) *''Jor Morning News (จ้อข่าวเช้า)'' (Thailand)

Notable radio news magazines

International

* ''

Newshour ''Newshour'' is BBC World Service's flagship international news and current affairs radio programme, which is broadcast twice daily: weekdays at 1400, weekends at 1300 and nightly at 2100 (UK time). There is also an additional online programme ...

Australia

* '' AM'' * '' RN Breakfast'' * '' PM'' * '' The World Today''

Canada

* '' Canada Live'' * '' The Current'' * '' The World at Six''

Mexico

*''W noticias ''(

XEW-AM XEW-AM (900 kHz) and XEW-FM (96.9 MHz) are commercial radio stations in Mexico City, Mexico, simulcasting a news/talk radio format branded as ''W Radio''. XEW serves as the flagship for other "W Radio" stations around Mexico that carry some or ...

) *

United Kingdom

* ''

Breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night. Various "typical" or "traditional" breakfast menus exist, with food choices varying by regi ...

'' ( BBC Radio Five Live) * ''

Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...

'' * '' PM'' * ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' * ''

The World at One ''The World at One'' (or ''WATO'', pronounced "what-oh") is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs radio programme, broadcast weekdays from 13:00 to 13:45 and produced by BBC News. The programme describes itself as "Bri ...

'' * '' The World This Weekend'' * ''

The World Tonight ''The World Tonight'' is a British current affairs radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4, every weekday evening, which started out as an extension of the 10 pm news. It is produced by BBC News and features news, analysis and comment on dome ...

'' * '' Worricker on Sunday'' (Five Live)

United States

* ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' * '' America in The Morning'' * '' Eye on the World'' * ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 a ...

'' (weekend version branded as ''

Weekend Edition ''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio ( NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program ''Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday ...

'') * '' This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal'' * ''

Weekend America ''Weekend America'' was a weekly public radio program dealing with news, popular culture, the arts and more. The program was produced for American Public Media and hosted by John Moe in Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated S ...

'' * '' The World''

References

External links

''The Guardian'' article on news magazines

WORLD podcast of a radio news magazine
(archived 5 March 2016)
Merrian-Webster definition of news magazine

A brief history of the TV news magazine ''TVNewser''
(archived 13 July 2014)
TV critic from ''The Buffalo News'' on TV newsmagazines
(archived 5 March 2016) {{Authority control Magazine genres Television genres Television terminology

Broadcast news magazines

Notable print news magazines

Notable TV news magazines

Australia

Canada

Italy

Mexico

Philippines

United Kingdom

United States

Other countries

Notable radio news magazines

International

Australia

Canada

Mexico

United Kingdom

United States

See also

References

External links