The newspapers primarily featured lengthy discussions and editorials regarding political conditions. They also included a "Unter dem Strich" ("Below the line") section that featured short stories, poetry, critical reviews of new books, evaluations of art exhibits, and reports on musical concerts and new plays. An especially popular feature was a novel, serialized with a new chapter every week. In many ways more influential than the newspapers were the magazines, which proliferated after 1870. Eminent intellectuals favored this medium. By 1890, Berlin published over 600 weeklies, biweeklies, monthlies, and quarterlies, including scholarly journals that were essential reading for scientists everywhere.