Slam (magazine)
ISSN 1072-625X | |
Slam (stylized in all caps) is an American basketball magazine in circulation since 1994.
History
Founding and early years
Slam was launched in 1994
Its first issue had a cover story on Larry Johnson of the Charlotte Hornets (written by future Fortune editor Andrew Serwer) and a feature on then-Cal freshman Jason Kidd. Many of the magazine's lasting features, such as In Your Face, Slam-a-da-month, and Last Shot all began with that first issue.
From 1996 to 1997, Slam's total annual-unit sales rose 25 percent, with advertising revenue increasing by more than a third; by 1998, the magazine was published eight times per year.[3]
Ownership
Slam's ownership has changed several times.
Advertising content
The magazine carries advertising for basketball-related products, street-wear clothing and hip hop music, and has been credited with helping to market hip-hop culture and basketball as one.
As of November 1997, the Philadelphia Daily News reported, roughly a third of Slam's ads were for sneakers.[4]
Covers
Slam has published over 200 issues in its history, and has featured the biggest names in basketball on its cover, in articles, and on its famous SLAMups posters.
The first woman to appear on the Slam cover was Chamique Holdsclaw in October 1998, followed by Maya Moore for the September/October 2018 issue, and then several more WNBA stars.
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have appeared on a record amount of covers. "A Basketball On Fire" was the first Slam magazine cover without a player, in February 2012, addressing the 2011 NBA lockout.
In 2006, readers voted the cover for issue 32, featuring Allen Iverson in March 1999, as SLAM's best cover from its first hundred issues.[5] Then-editor in chief Tony Gervino commented that the cover "defined" SLAM's hip-hop identity and added that, while covers featuring Michael Jordan sold the best, "Iverson was the heart of the magazine."[6]
Distribution and circulation
Known for its success in the
The magazine is now available to international (non-U.S.) NBA fans, with special editions printed in some territories (see below), and the addition of Slam to digital stores, such as iTunes (the remoteness/distance from the U.S. of the subscriber has become a recurring theme in the letters section).[11]
Magazine features and editorial style
In 2004, Washington Post columnist Mike Wise observed that "counterculture heroes have emerged from SLAM magazine's pages."[12] During the mid-to-late 1990s into the 2000s, SLAM was often regarded by advertising executives and media members as avant-garde for its approaches at the time of publishing player-written pieces and an extensive letters-to-the-editor section which spanned several pages, each of which provided ample voice to the NBPA and common fans. For example, in reference to Craig Hodges, author Dave Zirin reflected in the title's 100th issue that if SLAM had existed in years prior, "a player of politics and protest could've outrun purgatory. This is why SLAM is the most important print magazine of my lifetime."[13]
- "Trash Talk": readers give their love to Slam or share some beef they had with the last magazine, and selected letters are put in this section.
- "SLAMADAMONTH": a short article describing a slam dunk accompanied by a photograph of the play. This feature usually features a dunk performed by an NBA player, but has featured college players in the past. The first SLAMADAMONTH (Spring 1994 issue) featured Chris Webber dunking on Charles Barkley.
- "NOYZ": a series of one-line jokes commenting on recent basketball events, written anonymously. The first NOYZ column appeared in the March 1995 issue.
- "In Your Face":
- "Last Shot": a former back-page column documenting a game-winning shot during a game. This feature was discontinued after the January 2000 issue.
- "SLAM Magazine's top 75 NBA players of all time"—released in 2003.
- "SLAM Magazine Old School"—Released in 2005.
- "What's My Name?": SLAM fans make nicknames for NBA players and if they win they get a prize from the slam vault.
- "The SLAM high school diary": In 1994, SLAM began a tradition of choosing a highly talented high school basketball player to keep a monthly diary recording their accomplishments as they moved toward playing senior") year of high school when they wrote the diary.
- Trash Talk: Readers' letters to the editor are posted here, with occasional comments by the editor.
- Rookie Diary – The Rookie Diary is held by a new NBA rookie yearly, as they speak about their first experiences in the league
References
- ^ "List of Top 10 Best Sports Magazines of All time". Sporty Ghost. March 3, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ^ Mandese, Joe (November 8, 1993). "New publication launches". Advertising Age.
- ^ "Petersen Publishing Acquires SLAM Magazine". PR Newswire. May 15, 1998.
- ^ Pendleton, Tonya (November 7, 1997). "It's not the fit: Shoe's appeal depends on who wears it". Philadelphia Daily News. pp. F19.
- ^ "SLAM 100 Reader Poll". SLAM. No. 100. August 2006. p. 72.
- ^ Jones, Ryan (August 2006). "Ice Cold Classic". SLAM. No. 100. pp. 90–102.
- ^ Lefevre, Lori (March 26, 2001). "Bimonthlies". Mediaweek.
- ^ Granatstein, Lisa (June 10, 2002). "King clone". Mediaweek.
- ^ Pearlman, Jeff (June 3, 2003). "Basketball's Bible: SLAM has defied the odds (and its critics) to emerge as the Michael Jordan of hoops magazines". Newsday. pp. B06.
- ^ Lloyd, Brenda (November 20, 2006). "Primedia hopes for slam dunk". Daily News Record.
- ^ Slam Magazine. itunes.apple.com. Retrieved June 3, 2014
- ^ Wise, Mike (December 25, 2004). "NBA tries to appease both sides of culture gap". The Washington Post. pp. A01.
- ^ Zirin, Dave (August 2006). "Louder than a Bomb". SLAM. No. 100. p. 40.