At your service: how an award-winning Denver magazine caters to its readers with its eye-popping service journalism

Abstract

Service journalism takes over cover after cover of each monthly issue. The feature well contains one, two, sometimes three service pieces. At 5280, Denver's city magazine, service journalism drives sales and draws in loyal readers -- and has done so since its first issue, published in July 1993. The cover story? Top Docs. But service journalism has evolved since then. The traditional pieces have widened in scope to nontraditional pieces such as the beginner's guide to fly-fishing and the dark side of fitness. Whether traditional or nontraditional pieces, what constitutes good service? As an editorial intern at 5280, I spent four months studying the practice to uncover what the reader keeps coming back for time and time again -- and what keeps turning heads at the City and Regional Magazine Association as a consistent award-winner. The result is pages of analysis, interviews and observations that will assist other city magazines in refining this sector of journalism.