Contemporary Magazine-Ness Through the Lens of Translation Paradigm

Within the context of the publishing and media system, magazines can be considered as cultural artifacts in constant transformation, not only for technological changes but also for their strict relationship with the sociocultural context. They reflect and contribute to the construction of reality by disseminating various types of content through different analog or digital media. In this article, we assume that magazines can be semiotically interpreted as texts and their design (both in terms of content and expression), derives from a series of translation practices. The translation paradigm, in all its interpretations, specificities, brings to our attention the centrality of the contents and the ways in which they are framed, modelled, and transferred. These theoretical premises led us to question what magazine-ness consists of today, what are the most relevant lines of research and design for the present and the future. We have identified four different directions open to further investigation: alternative-slow journalism, transmedia journalism, data journalism, and automated journalism. These categories do not purport to be exhaustive; they constitute a first interpretative model that deserves further development and study both at a theoretical and design level.