PM (magazine)

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PM
logo
description popular science journal
language German
publishing company Gruner + Jahr ( Germany )
Headquarters Hamburg
First edition 4th October 1978
Frequency of publication per month
Sold edition 126,273 copies
( IVW 2/2020)
Widespread edition 126,938 copies
( IVW 2/2020)
Range 1.04 million readers
( MA 2017 II )
Editors-in-chief Jens Schröder
Markus Wolff
Web link pm-wissen.com
ISSN (print) 1863-9313
ISSN (online) 0176-4152

The PM magazine (formerly PM - Peter Moosleitner's interesting magazine ) is a popular science magazine in Germany with a focus on science and technology. The magazine appears monthly in the Hamburg publishing house Gruner + Jahr .

PM also stands for a brand family in which, in addition to the PM magazine, other knowledge magazines, the TV show PM Wissen and various podcasts appear.

history

1978–1994: Foundation and era under Moosleitner

PM logo when it was founded in 1978

The magazine was developed in Munich from 1976 onwards on behalf of Gruner + Jahr. One of the founders was Gerhard Moosleitner , who later acted as editor-in-chief (until 1994) and publisher (until 1998). The magazine got its unusual name when the developers presented their designs to the publishing house management. Suggested names such as "Weltzeit", "Prisma" or "Periskop" fell through because they did not express what kind of magazine the reader would get. Gruner + Jahr board member Rolf Poppe then wrote his suggestion on a piece of paper: Peter Moosleitner's interesting magazine . Poppe may have assumed that Moosleitner's first name was Peter. However, if the magazine had been named “GM” after Gerhard Moosleitner, a trademark dispute with the General Motors group would have threatened. Moosleitner's middle name Dietrich was also used as an abbreviation, not only for the German mark , but also as the name of the consumer magazine DM . Poppe's proposal prevailed. Moosleitner subsequently adopted the stage name "Peter".

The new magazine was advertised in 1978 with a special edition called "First Edition" that was not available at the kiosk. It could be ordered free of charge using a call-up card, which was enclosed with the various Gruner + Jahr magazines. This "first edition" was reprinted in 1979, with at least three different cover images (dinosaur, volcanic eruption, airplane). In the editorial of the reprint, Moosleitner explained the concept of his magazine: It reports on the topics that he and the editorial team find interesting.

“First of all, I find it interesting: everything that is somehow extraordinary. Exceptionally big […] old […] beautiful […] terrible […] creepy […] puzzling […]
Second, I find interesting: everything that was before. [...]
Thirdly, I find interesting: everything that is new and changes our lives. [...] scientific research results that are sometimes difficult to grasp. PM has developed new ways of making difficult things easy. [...]
Fourthly, I find it interesting: everything that points the way to the future. PM will conscientiously point out the difficulties that man faces today. But PM will never 'preach doom'. Instead, PM will show again and again the enormous problems that humans have already dealt with in the millions of years of their history. [...] "

- Peter Moosleitner : What is interesting? PM , reprint of the first edition 1979, p. 3

The mix of topics in the “first edition” shows the characteristic range of PM: primeval human behavior, the Bronze Age eruption of the volcanic island of Thera , the fighter-bomber A-10 “Warthog” , the love life of animals, historical pistol duels, the physics of the rainbow, the art of Archery with Zen monks, drives for spaceships , the oldest word in the world, the development of artificial hearts ... The magazine is considered to be a pioneer for popular science in Germany.

The first issue at the kiosk appeared on October 4, 1978 as 11/1978. It cost 5 DM, the circulation was 200,000 copies. In 1982 the first offshoot, PM Computerheft , appeared; 1986 PM Perspective followed , 1988 PM logic trainer . Since then, PM has also been the name of a family of brands.

In the period that followed, Gruner + Jahr founded magazines outside of Germany whose concepts are based on the PM magazine . They appear or have appeared in thirteen countries: Ça m'intéresse (France since 1981), Muy Interesante (Spain since 1981, Argentina and Colombia since 1985, Chile 1987-2019, Mexico since 1989), Superinteressante (Brazil since 1987, Brazil since 1998 Portugal), Focus (since 1992 Italy, since 1995 Poland, also Greece and China) and Quest (since 2004 Netherlands).

The most successful times for PM magazine were in the 1990s, when the circulation reached 500,000 copies.

1994–2014: Under the direction of Sprado

Moosleitner's successor as editor-in-chief was Hans-Hermann Sprado in 1994 . He founded the offshoots PM Biography and PM Questions & Answers . In 2000 the subheading “Peter Moosleitner's interesting magazine” was changed to “Peter Moosleitner's magazine. The modern world of knowledge ”. Thomas Vašek was editor-in-chief between 2007 and 2009 before Sprado took over the post again from 2009 until his death in 2014. Under Sprado, pseudoscientific to esoteric content took up an ever wider space. In 2011 the magazine was renamed PM Magazin . In 2014 the editorial team moved from Munich to Hamburg.

From 2014: realignment and return to the origins

In 2014 Florian Gless became editor-in-chief and at the same time retained his position as editor-in-chief of National Geographic Germany . A relaunch took place in 2015: the magazine was renamed to PM ; the design of the early years was taken up with the yellow color. Since then, the subtitle has been “Curious about tomorrow”.

Under the new editor-in-chief, PM also realigned its content : pseudoscience and esotericism disappeared from the magazine. The magazine also publicly distanced itself from the choice of topic in the meantime. In the editorial for the 08/2017 issue, Gless wrote under the heading “Spinning? Not with us! ”:“ When I was allowed to take over the editor-in-chief of this magazine almost three years ago, it was clear to me: no more esotericism! There are so many exciting things happening in science and research, especially in the digital age, that it really doesn’t need to be emotionally charged with whispers and speculations. "

In 2018 Jens Schröder took over the editor-in-chief of PM and National Geographic Germany . Jens Schröder and Markus Wolff have been editors-in-chief of the PM and Geo magazine families since January 2020 .

Concept and structure

PM does not require the reader to have any prior scientific training; it aims to convey knowledge in an easy way. It has a fundamentally positive view of science and technology. The range of topics includes technology, natural sciences, medicine, psychology, nature and the environment, and occasionally social sciences and history. Numerous illustrative and typographical elements such as explanatory boxes or infographics are characteristic.

Each issue consists of a mostly ten-page cover story as well as eight to ten additional multi-page articles. Since the redesign in 2015, the large articles have been classified under the following categories:

  • Limits and secrets
  • Technology and research
  • Visions and ideas

The Alpha section includes current research news. The regular elements include:

  • Test site : Columnist Michael Büker talks about historical experiments.
  • Animal life : bizarre facts about an animal of the month.
  • Perspective : A double-sided 3D exploded view illustrates the structure and functionality of a technical device.

There are also one-sided sections, including for quotes, letters to the editor, reviews of books and games, and a riddle.

Edition

The PM magazine has lost a lot of its circulation in recent years. The number of copies sold has fallen by 72.2 percent since 1998. It is currently 126,273 copies. Nevertheless, compared to the other German knowledge magazines that are registered with IVW , PM has the second largest sold circulation, behind Geo (as of 01/2020). The share of subscriptions in the circulation sold is 66.7 percent.

Development of the number of copies sold
Development of the number of subscribers

Brand family

Further magazines, a TV program and podcasts appear under the PM brand umbrella . Unless otherwise stated, they are produced in the editorial department of PM magazine .

Magazine offshoot

  • Logos of the magazine offshoots of PM
  • Logo-PM-Questions-Answers.png
  • Logo PM History.jpg
  • Logo-PM-Logic-Trainer.png
  • PM topic Logo.png
  • PM Questions & Answers Subtitle: Knowing faster. Since 2000, the knowledge magazine has been answering around 60 questions from the topics of current affairs, nature, history, politics, leisure, technology, science, health, psychology and society in short articles. It appears monthly.
  • PM History Subtitle: Europe's largest monthly history magazine. The history magazine was created in 1993 as PM - The Historical Event , and in 1998 it was renamed PM History . It has been published monthly since 2003.
  • PM Logic Trainer Subtitle: Fitness for the Brain. The puzzle magazine was founded in 1988 as a PM logic trainer and mainly contained logic . From 2012 to 2016 it appeared as a PM logic puzzle . PM logic trainer since 2016 , since then it has combined different types of puzzles, including logicals, nonograms known as logic puzzles , cross-sum puzzles and letter salads . Produced by Realis-Verlag, with the help of Ulrich Voigt, eleven-time record winner of the World Puzzle Championship . Appears monthly.
  • PM Topic Monothematic knowledge magazine published once a year since 2019.

Television broadcast

  • Gernot Grömer in the PM Wissen studio

  • PM Knowledge Since 2018 weekly knowledge program on ServusTV , moderated by astrophysicist Gernot Grömer , who is also the chairman of the Austrian Space Forum . In Germany, the program appears on Wednesdays at 9.15 p.m., in Austria on Thursdays at 8.15 p.m. The length of an episode is 60 minutes gross. It consists of several contributions from the fields of technology, nature, medicine, space travel and society. The magazine articles are supplemented by short sections such as “Expert in 2 minutes”, idioms or super slow motion. Produced by Bilderfest.

Podcasts

  • Tell me, you as a physicist - the PM podcast on Audible since 2018 , 96 episodes in four seasons, one episode around 30 minutes long. Editor-in-chief Schröder asks physicists Michael Büker and Johannes Kückens about a physical topic, from everyday phenomena to cosmology.
  • The Forgotten Three - the PM History Podcast On Audible since 2019, first season with 24 episodes, one episode around 45 minutes long. Editor Joachim Telgenbüscher, historian Janine Funke and fact checker Fabian Klabunde present three people from world history on an overarching topic.
  • Smarter - the daily knowledge podcast from PM Every working day since April 2020. PM editors answer one question each day from their area of ​​expertise. One episode lasts around five minutes. Produced by Audio Now, appears free of charge on various streaming services.

Online presence

  • pm-wissen.com The brand family has had a joint web portal since 2020. The website bundles content from the magazines, the TV program and the podcasts.

Former magazine offshoots

Meanwhile discontinued magazines of the brand family PM were:

  • PM active (2005-2006)
  • PM biography (1998–2015, in 2002 as Famous ; from August 2002 to the end of 2005 as stern (special) biography , published until 2016 as Brigitte biography )
  • PM picture puzzle (2008)
  • PM Brain Trainer (around 1997)
  • PM CIT (Crime Investigation Team) (2011)
  • PM Clever (2006-2007)
  • PM computer booklet (1982–1989)
  • PM documentary (2006)
  • PM Extra issue: Best of science (2005–2006, insert in the PM magazine , only for subscribers)
  • PM Guide (2008)
  • PM intelligence trainer (1997-2016, from 2012 as PM intelligence puzzles )
  • PM creative trainer (2000-2016, from 2012 as PM creative puzzle )
  • PM Logicals (2003-2016, from 2012 as PM Logicals puzzle )
  • PM Look (1996; 4 issues)
  • PM perspective (1986-2014)
  • PM rhetoric trainer (2003-2007, from 2006 as PM rhetoric - the word trainer )
  • PM Snords (2012)
  • PM Speed ​​Trainer (2012)
  • PM Sudoku trainer (around 2005-2016, from 2012 as PM Sudoku puzzles )
  • PM TV Quiz Trainer (2001)
  • Willi wills Wissen - The children's magazine from PM (2006–2007, magazine offshoot of the children's program Willi wills Wissen )
  • PM Zoom (2017)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j history of PM magazine. In: pm-magazin.de. 2004, archived from the original on March 7, 2008 ; accessed on April 16, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b Martin Tzschaschel: How it all began . In: PM February 2016, p. 10-14 .
  3. ↑ Peter Moosleitner: How it came about that this new magazine was named after me . In: PM November 1978, p. 3 .
  4. ↑ The PM story ( memento from August 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) at pm-magazin.de, accessed on July 28, 2014
  5. ^ "PM" founder Peter Moosleitner is dead. In: welt.de. December 4, 2015, accessed April 16, 2020 .
  6. ↑ a b c 25 years PM In: presseportal.de. October 15, 2003, accessed April 17, 2020 .
  7. ↑ 30 years of amazement: PM MAGAZIN celebrates its anniversary. In: dnv-online.net. October 16, 2008, accessed April 17, 2020 .
  8. ↑ a b “The PM brand is vital on many channels”. In: meedia.de. March 11, 2019, accessed April 16, 2020 .
  9. ↑ a b c d e P.M. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Gruner + Jahr: Florian Gless takes over editor-in-chief of the PM family. In: meedia.de. September 12, 2014, accessed April 20, 2020 .
  11. ↑ PM starts relaunch. In: presseportal.de. September 10, 2015, accessed April 16, 2020 .
  12. ↑ If cars could fly. In: sueddeutsche.de. September 13, 2015, accessed May 16, 2020 .
  13. ↑ "National Geographic wants to be the voice of reason". In: meedia.de. June 8, 2018, accessed April 16, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Florian Gless: Spinning? Not with us! In: PM August 2017, p. 3 .
  15. Jump up at National Geographic and PM. In: meedia.de. April 10, 2018, accessed April 22, 2020 .
  16. ↑ G + J: Jens Schröder and Markus Wolff are the new editors-in-chief of the “Geo” and “PM” titles. In: meedia.de. November 25, 2019, accessed April 22, 2020 .
  17. ↑ PM magazine: The know-it-alls. In: tagesspiegel.de. July 24, 2007, accessed April 22, 2020 .
  18. ↑ according to IVW , ( details on ivw.eu )
  19. ↑ according to IVW , second quarter 2020 ( details and quarterly comparison on ivw.eu )
  20. ^ IVW: Public magazines with national distribution / knowledge magazines. In: ivw.eu. Retrieved on April 16, 2020 (To compare the sold circulation of all knowledge magazines, you have to click on "All details".).
  21. ↑ according to IVW , fourth quarter in each case ( details on ivw.eu )
  22. ↑ according to IVW , fourth quarter in each case ( details on ivw.eu )
  23. ↑ PM Questions & Answers. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  24. ^ PM History. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  25. ↑ PM logic trainer. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  26. ↑ PM topic. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  27. ↑ PM knowledge. In: servustv.com. Accessed June 1, 2020 .
  28. ↑ Say, you as a physicist - the PM podcast. In: audible.de. Accessed June 1, 2020 .
  29. ↑ The Forgotten Three - the "PM HISTORY" podcast. In: audible.de. Accessed June 1, 2020 .
  30. ↑ Smarter faster - the daily podcast from PM In: audionow.de. Accessed June 1, 2020 .
  31. ↑ PM biography. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved on April 16, 2020 (contrary to what is listed there, at least one issue under the name PM is occupied for 2015).
  32. ↑ "Brigitte Biography" comes to the kiosk. In: Clap Club. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  33. ↑ Do you find the mistakes? - with the PM picture puzzle. In: Gruner + Jahr. January 13, 2008, accessed April 9, 2020 .
  34. ↑ PM Clever - in stores for the first time from November 10th. In: Gruner + Jahr. November 6, 2006, accessed October 1, 2019 .
  35. ^ Nekrolog 2007. In: Retromedia. December 31, 2007, accessed April 8, 2020 .
  36. ↑ PM computer notebook . In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  37. ↑ The new PM computer booklet. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  38. ^ PM Best of Science. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  39. ↑ a b c d Renaming of the PM TRAINER series. In: press report. October 12, 2012, accessed April 16, 2020 .
  40. ↑ PM creative trainer. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  41. ↑ PM creative puzzle. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  42. ↑ PM perspective. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  43. ↑ Knowledge magazine PM launches rhetoric trainer. In: presseportal.de. April 2, 2003, accessed October 1, 2019 .
  44. ↑ More sophisticated than any crossword puzzle - PM SNORDS. In: Gruner + Jahr. June 29, 2012, accessed October 1, 2019 .
  45. ↑ PM speed trainer. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  46. ↑ Willi wants to know. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  47. ↑ PM Zoom. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .