Trade journal

A trade journal is a periodical, magazine or publication printed with the intention of target marketing to a specific industry or type of trade/business. Trade journals typically contain heavy advertising content focused on the industry in question with little if any "general audience" advertising. They also generally contain industry-specific job notices, which to many readers the most interesting aspect of the publication. [citebook|title=Journal Publishing|author=Gillian Page, Robert Campbell, Arthur Jack Meadows|year= 1997|publisher=Cambridge University Press|id=ISBN 0521441374] Many trade publications can also be considered newsmagazines with a very specific topical focus.

The purpose of trade journals is to connect a community working in a specific area. Examples could be tailors, architects, manufacturing chemists or teachers and it is almost certainly true that no matter what the trade or group, as long as the community is big enough (20,000+), then a publication will exist. The purpose is to connect the community with themselves (news, jobs, forums etc) and those serving that industry (suppliers). So the format now extends to using the web and face to face events (conferences, exhibitions, awards ceremonies and training) often through the title or brand from the original journal.

In the biological sciences, the boundary between the trade publication and peer reviewed journal has blurred in certain instances, particularly in the biotechnology industry. One example of such a publication is "BioTechniques" which contains peer reviewed technical reports and technology reviews while containing heavy advertising content, a significant proportion of the articles being authored by or in collaboration with vendors who advertise in the same issue.

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