The background of National Geographic

The famous yellow box is the global symbol of National Geographic.

During the Anti-Japanese War, two American pilots were unfortunately hit by the Japanese army while performing a bombing mission on the Japanese mainland. Their plane was forced to land in a completely unfamiliar place. They were extremely nervous and had just returned from Japan. Emerging from the broken plane, a group of people with strange skin colors gathered around them. They quickly took out their guns, but they soon became relaxed again. Because they have seen the introduction of this nation in their American "National Geographic" magazine, and it belongs to their ally - China.

In 1929, Maynard Owen Williams, a reporter for National Geographic magazine, wrote in a letter to Gilbert H. Grosvenor, the editor-in-chief of National Geographic: " The happiest thing is that a reporter can lead 1.25 million members of the National Geographic Society to climb a mountain with him through photos and words, overlook the world, and then say to them: Just look, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be able to see it. All of this." This passage was later widely quoted by reporters at National Geographic magazine, and became the reason for their passion and pride in their work.

The value of these two stories is that they vividly describe everything that National Geographic can bring to the public: practicality. The value of geographical knowledge, as well as the romance and passion it is endowed with.

"National Geographic" was founded by the "National Geographic Society", a non-profit scientific education organization in the United States. One of its founders is Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. It came out at a time when human history was opening a new chapter due to huge advances in scientific and technological inventions. Telephones, electric lights, cars, and airplanes brought not only surprises to people, but also revolutions. Being born in such an era seems destined to always pursue the quality of innovation. Over the past 100 years, its perspective has been based on the whole world, from the polar regions to the interior, from the bottom of the sea to the moon, from the remaining primitive tribes in the grasslands and forests to the busy crowds in modern cities. It not only records the geographical overview, but also records the political, economic, historical and cultural changes of the world over more than a hundred years, and records the dreams and pursuits of mankind.

The contribution of inventor Bell lies not only in his revolutionary promotion of human communication, but also in the significance brought by his innovative spirit. This is also reflected in the impact on "National Geographic" - his two decisions laid the foundation for the future development of "National Geographic": First, he implemented a membership system and sold the magazine to everyone who wanted to join the Geographical Society. For people, buying a magazine means enrolling in the magazine and paying the membership fee. This created a unique model for National Geographic's great commercial success in the future; second, it boldly hired Grosvenor, a young teacher who was only 23 years old. After taking office, Grosvenor changed the traditional editing model of National Geographic and gave up two-thirds of the page to pictures. The huge visual impact caused by the exquisite large pictures quickly attracted the attention of readers. With a rigorous and realistic scientific attitude and a simple state of nature, National Geographic quickly established itself in the highly competitive magazine industry with its global perspective and broad thinking.

The innovative spirit advocated by inventor Bell has injected eternal vitality into National Geographic. In 1910, "National Geographic" used black-and-white and light-color photos and vivid illustrations; in the 1930s, "National Geographic" began to use Leica cameras and Kodak film; in 1959, "National Geographic" fixedly used color photos for its covers. In the 1960s, "National Geographic" "National Geographic" has opened up its territory to space and the underwater world. In the 1970s, the magazine's leadership once again broke with decades of tradition and led the magazine into controversial areas, beginning to report on topics such as chemical pollution, nuclear power generation, illegal wildlife trade, and human evolution. At the same time, the aesthetic style makes it stand out. It has equally strict requirements on text. It pays attention to every word and emphasizes the harmony between text and pictures. It pays attention to bringing readers not only knowledge, but also artistic feeling. It is innovative rather than pandering, aesthetically pleasing but never self-admiring, grasps the pulse of the times and has a certain degree of news, which makes it attractive to more than just nature lovers.

This innovative spirit also reflects its great commercial success. National Geographic's membership system has enabled it to develop millions of members around the world. Its core brand strategy has promoted its products from periodicals to books, printed matter, photo libraries and educational products, maps, TV programs, websites, CD-ROM electronic products and even daily necessities are well known for their light yellow box and the words "National Geographic". This also makes the National Geographic Society the largest non-profit organization in the world. It pays attention to both distribution and internationalization, and has made great achievements in diversifying distribution channels and internationalization to adapt to trends. Although some people continue to emphasize the cultural aggression of "strong media", this cannot change its growing momentum - the global circulation of "National Geographic" has reached nearly 10 million.

Of course there are not only "National Geographic" geographical magazines around the world, but also the British "Geographical" magazine, the Canadian "Canadian Geographic", the German geographical magazine "GEO" and the French "Science and Life". It is a publication that advocates nature and humanities, but due to its strong regional characteristics, most of the readers of these magazines are concentrated in a certain region. China's geographical magazines have developed rapidly in recent years, and the most famous one is China National Geography, which is backed by the Institute of Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. After September 2002, the copyright cooperation between "National Geographic" and "Fashion Travel" magazine has made this charming yellow box appear in China.

No one can deny the great success of National Geographic, as well as the innovation and beauty it has always demonstrated and adhered to. This is the temperament that this magazine has always adhered to.