Biographical Sketch

Samir "Mr. Magazine™" Husni, Ph.D., is a leading expert on print journalism and magazine industry consultant. Husni received his undergraduate degree from Lebanese University in Beirut and a scholarship to work on advanced degrees in the United States. He went on to earn a master’s degree in journalism from the University of North Texas in 1980 and a Ph.D. in magazine journalism from the University of Missouri in 1983. He is the founder and director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the School of Journalism and New Media at The University of Mississippi, where he served as a professor of journalism from 1984 to 2021.

Scope and Contents

The Samir Husni Magazine Collection represents a lifetime of research in media history and magazine publishing. Husni’s yearly publication, Samir Husni’s Guide to New Magazines, was in print from 1985 to 2011, and is published electronically to date as the Mr. Magazine™ Launch Monitor. The Guide and Launch Monitor document more than 40,000 first issue magazines published in the United States in the twentieth century, all of which are contained in the collection. A significant percentage of first edition magazines in the U.S. never published a second issue, so much of the content of the collection is extremely rare.

The collection also includes longer or near-complete runs of other periodical titles from the early twentieth century, merchandise and marketing kits created by magazine publishers, and Husni's professional papers. Taken as a whole, the Husni Collection provides a detailed view of the landscape of American periodical publishing for a large span of the 20th century.

Series Outline

This broad series outline is tentative and may change as the collection is processed.

Series 1: Materials listed in Samir Husni's Guide to New Magazines. Consult the printed guides for indexes. Materials are in process.

Series 2: Magazine first issues not listed in the Guide.

Series 3: Personal and professional papers.

Series 4: Magazines published prior to 1985.

Series 5: Merchandise and marketing materials.

Additional materials: Monographs, comics, and sets or runs of post-1985 magazines.

Access

The collection is currently in process and is not yet available to researchers. However, librarians are happy to assist with questions. Please contact Special Collections.

Related Resources:

• Samir Husni's Guide to New Magazines
• Mr. Magazine™ Launch Monitor