Selected magazines
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Service journalism is journalism focused on providing useful information and advice to readers, particularly consumer information. [1]
While public service journalism is about reporting issues that concern citizens and equipping them to form reasoned opinions on matters of shared interest, [2] service journalism is generally consumer-oriented and includes advice, ranging from the serious to the frivolous. Service journalism is "actionable" for the reader and is described as "news you can use". [3] [4]
Service journalism was pioneered in part by Clay Felker, who launched New York magazine in 1968. [5] Published among lengthy investigative and literary pieces were tips and features on fashion, food, and travel. Service journalism appears in magazines as varied as Maxim and U.S. News & World Report .
News publishers perceived less relevance for service journalism in 2025, concurrent with the general availability of generative AI. [6]
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Publishers say there should be less emphasis on service journalism (-42) and evergreen content (-32), such as travel guides, product reviews, or stories about 'what's on TV tonight?' Some clearly recognise that AI chatbots will answer these questions more effectively than publishers in the future, even if some of the content was generated by them in the first place.