A content analysis of "McClure's Magazine," often cited as initiating the muckraking era, was undertaken to assess whether muckraking content constituted the dominant element in the appeal the magazine had for its readers. The publication period 1903-1905 was chosen for the study; each monthly issue was examined; and each article, exclusive of advertisements, was categorized as being either muckraking or nonmuckraking. The results of the study indicated that muckraking content for the three-year period constituted only 24% of the number of magazine pages and 17% of the articles. These findings contribute to recent scholarship on the progressive era that has reevaluated the nature of progressive reform and the once-predominant view that crusading reformers such as the muckrakers were the prime force in breaking the trusts and taming the grafters. (AEA)