Reviewing 'Reviewing the Fan Mags'

On June 2, 1933, trade daily the Hollywood Reporter announced it was inaugurating a new column, Reviewing the Fan Mags. The section appeared sixty-five times over the next twelve months, eventually surveying 145 magazine issues. The column then ceased as suddenly as it had begun, this time without fanfare. In beginning the section as a new service for readers, the editor, W. R. Wilkerson, had attested that fan magazines were important to the film business. What happened in that year, then, to make Wilkerson decide to abandon the coverage of the movie-magazine contents and ostensibly reverse his views about their utility? This article first examines the contexts, contents, and style of the Reviewing the Fan Mags section before considering the circumstances around its cancellation.