Samuel Sidney McClure

American editor and publisher

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 30, 2026

Quick Summary

Samuel Sidney McClure was an American editor and publisher who revolutionized the magazine industry in the late 19th century. He founded McClure's Magazine in 1893, selling it for a lower price than competitors to reach a wider audience. This strategy, along with content geared towards the average reader's interests, significantly increased magazine circulation and advertising revenue.1

McClure's magazine became a platform for investigative journalism, famously publishing articles by Lincoln Steffens, Ray Stannard Baker, and Ida M. Tarbell in its January 1903 issue. These pieces, which exposed corruption in municipal government, labor issues, and business trusts, are considered among the first "muckraking" articles. This trend grew out of the public's appetite for arrestingly presented news, fueled by popular magazines like McClure's.2

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

newspaper syndicate
McClure launched a similar venture in the same year. He first offered fiction and secured the rights to several stories by Rudyard Kipling. He also helped to introduce the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and others into the United States. The features offered at…
Read More
McClure launched a similar venture in the same year. He first offered fiction and secured the rights to several stories by Rudyard Kipling. He also helped to introduce the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and others into the United States. The features offered at…
Read More

history of publishing
General periodicals
…revolution in the industry was Samuel Sidney McClure, who began publishing McClure’s Magazine in 1893, which he sold for 15 cents an issue instead of the usual 25 or 35 cents. John Brisben Walker, who was building up Cosmopolitan (founded 1886) after acquiring it in 1889, cut his price to…
Read More
…revolution in the industry was Samuel Sidney McClure, who began publishing McClure’s Magazine in 1893, which he sold for 15 cents an issue instead of the usual 25 or 35 cents. John Brisben Walker, who was building up Cosmopolitan (founded 1886) after acquiring it in 1889, cut his price to…
Read More