Archive for the ‘Magazines’ Category
Starlets, magazines and other things to give up for Lent
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Feb. 22, 2012 at 05:15 pm
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Feb. 22, 2012 at 07:26 pm
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In keeping with our conversation on Tuesday about the pathetically small number of pieces by women published in major American magazines, I thought Id move beyond frustration to solutions. If its so hard for editors (and as many readers pointed out, whos commissioning and editing is critically important to who gets commissioned and published) to find female writers who have the chops to get major magazine assignments, Ill offer up 10. These are just a few of the wildly talented women out there that major magazines would benefit from publishing on a regular basis, and their subscribers would benefit from reading. And you dont need to stick them in a lady-issues slot, either:
1. Mac McClelland: I said it last year, and Ill say it again. Someone should send Mother Jones awesome investigative reporter out on the road with a dude movie star to send back awesome–and non-flirtatious–reports from the road. That, or ship her off to a war zone. Either way, McClelland would turn in an account thats deeply reportered and wildly entertaining to read.
2. Irin Carmon: The Salon reporters turned in everything from ferocious reports on the wide array of measures conservative lawmakers have been pushing to limit womens access to reproductive health care to seminal essays on the enduring cultural legacy of Dirty Dancing. And shes proven she can do everything from Jezebel-style blogging to substantial reporting, which is all editors who need to fill the front of the book, the back of the book, and the feature well should need to know.
3. Amanda Hess and Tracy Clark-Flory: Periodically, a major magazine will decide it wants to get a little edgy and profile a porn star or a porn entrepreneur. Sometimes, theyll even assign a woman to do it, like when Vanessa Grigoriadis hung out with Sasha Grey at the beginning of her transition from pornography to mainstream movies for a Rolling Stone profile. But shes not the only woman who can write these kinds of pieces. Magazines who want to get erudite about the adult industry should consider Hess and Clark-Flory, both of whom cover porn as a core part of their beats.
4. Willa Paskin: Okay, she already shows up in the pages of New York Magazine, so its not like Paskins a stranger to the national magazine circuit. But more publications should be putting her gimlet eye for pop culture and ability to break down why a show or movie works–or just as often, doesnt–on a large scale. Maybe a weekend in Los Angeles with the Sisters Deschanel? Just sayin.
5. Charlie Jane Anders: The only writer on this list who could write for the fiction section of your magazine as well as turn in reviews, the managing editor of io9 should be your go-to gal for all things science and science fiction. And because she runs the San Francisco-based Writers With Drinks series, she could probably hook you up with a whole other range of talented writers to fill your pages.
6. Dana Goldstein: Judaism. Education policy. Great book reviews like this one. Goldstein came up in the Washington, DC journalism community that values deep dives and expertise in subject material, honed her skills as a Daily Beast editor, and now is working on an education policy book and churning out essays. New York Review of Books–snap this one up.
7. Sarah Jaffe: This Alternet editor polishes and writes some of the great labor journalism Americas major publications have, with a few minor exceptions, largely abandoned. She was one of the first people to seriously cover the Occupy movement on the ground. And she also knows a whole bunch about comics. Your nerd readers and your economic policy readers will thank you.
8. Kate Sheppard: Climate change is one of the most important issues of our time, so why not hire a reporter deeply versed in the politics of our approach to it? Oh, and while youre at it, you might want to take a look at Mother Jones, the place that currently employes both Sheppard and McClelland and see what you can do to find and develop outstanding female reporters as well as Editor in Chief Clara Jeffrey has.
9. Kashmir Hill: Want your magazine content to flourish on the web? Hill has an incredible eye for what details make a story pop, and shes great at framing technology stories in particular. As personal tech and all the privacy issues that come with it become increasingly important, magazines could differentiate themselves from the dude-heavy tech writer crew by hiring Hill.
A study of 3,000 women in the UK and Europe found young women, who account for 90 per cent of anorexia cases, were influenced by the size and weight of their peer group. LSE academics conducting the research believe restricting the use
of photographs of underweight models in magazines would help ease the pressure on women to be very thin.
LSE economist Dr Joan Costa-Font and Professor Mireia Jofre-Bonet from City University wrote: Government intervention would be justified to curb the spread of a potential epidemic of food disorders.
The distorted self-perception of women with food disorders and the importance of the peer effects may prompt governments to take action to influence role models and compensate for social pressure on women.
In the UK, average BMI was the highest of the 17 countries in the study at 25.98.
The researchers said that Government would be justified in banning size zero models from the catwalk and stopping photos of very skinny women being used in magazines, according to researchers.
Hearst Magazines, publisher of 20 titles including Esquire, Elle, Good Housekeeping and Popular Mechanics, selected WoodWing Software’s Enterprise as its new multi-channel publishing platform groupwide. Implementation will span more than 800 seats and replace another Adobe InDesign-based app, WoodWing said.
“Hearst’s reason for selecting the WoodWing Enterprise system is a strategic move to align each of our brands for the emerging mobile markets while still supporting our print editions,” Sean Keefe, director of publishing technology at Hearst Magazines, said in a statement. “Because of the size of the implementation, involving over 800 seats, we’ve also looked closely to the total cost of ownership for our new solution.”
Emap, owner of trade magazines including Drapers and trade shows such as the Cannes advertising festival, is considering the sale of some titles and events as part of a review of its asset portfolio.
The review has been kicked-off by the arrival of new chief executive Duncan Painter, who joined from BSkyB in September, although it is understood that a full-scale break-up of the company is not on the cards.
Emap, which is split into trade magazine, data and exhibitions divisions, is understood to have met with a number of advisers, including Hawkpoint and Moelis, to discuss a range of potential options in terms of portfolio realignment.
A major break-up is probably three or four years away, said one source with knowledge of the plans. This is a tactical thing.
Emap owns more than a dozen magazines, including Retail Week, Broadcast and Local Government Chronicle, and data businesses such as retail trend-analysis firm WGSN.
Guardian Media Group, which also publishes MediaGuardian.co.uk, and Apax bought Emap in December 2007 for about £1bn, with both companies subsequently forced to write down the value of the investment. Apax owns just over 70% of Emap with GMG owning the rest.
Apax also acquired a 49.9% stake in Trader Media Group from GMG in 2007.
oTo contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly for publication.
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Trying to answer the digital eras increasing demands for personalization, magazines are pushing further into ads that address readers individually.
The March issue of Harpers Bazaar, for example, arrived at 300,000 subscribers homes accompanied by a full-page flier greeting subscribers by name and urging them to visit specific Neiman Marcus stores within 50 miles.
The flier — an outsert in industry jargon — follows an effort in Popular Mechanics November issue, which included a personalized outsert promoting HP printers and a 16-page insert pointing readers to HP retailers near their homes.
Magazines fall furthest in 2011 ad spend study
The print industry suffered the biggest drop in advertising spend in 2011, according to an independent adspend indexing firm.
Magazines saw the largest decline in adpsend, down 8.2% on 2010, with a total adspend of $433.6m, reports the Standard Media Index. This was followed by newspapers, down 7.3% on 2010, to $1.29bn.
Unsurprisingly, the clear winner was digital, with spend shooting up 20.6% on 2010, to $875.1m.
Eleswhere, the screen industry followed as cinema dropped 5.8% to $48.2m while TV saw a 1.5% drop to $3.58bn.
Both outdoor and radio saw gains. Outdoor saw a 5.4% increase on 2010 to $628.4m. Radio was up 2.2% to 528.1m.
Overall, advertising expenditure in 2011 was only slightly down on last year, totalling $7.421b, just below 2010s mark of $7.422b.
Once each year, our fashion magazines dedicate an issue titled The Age Issue or The Shape Issue to prove how politically correct they are besides being in tune with the minds of real women. I dont challenge their tokenism often, especially when one agrees that the very moot of fashion is to create desire, an aspiration.
But a head-turner this January is Vogue Indias simply brilliant cover. It has on it Mehr Jessia, Indias last and arguably only supermodel, looking so fine. Shes dressed like a Christian bride, in a white gauze and lace corset dress by Marchesa. Her hair flies from the wind of the studio fan. She appears to wear no makeup or jewellery. And she looks every bit the supermodel even today.
Although some of our magazines have been around for a decade, fashion and luxury is still nascent in India. Our global fixation with celebrities, that started with Vanity Fair and their Diana covers, have pushed models out of the limelight. Where they were once toasted as touch-me-not stars, celebrated for their attitude and elevated lifestyles, models are mere catwalkers these days. If they want to be in the news, models today need to either join the movies, take part in a reality show, or sometimes, tragically, end their lives.
A few years ago, almost every international magazine would have Angelina Jolie on their covers. The tabloids would cook up stories about her, just to have her mug on their top page. There she would be, helplessly sexy, with one or two of her multi-racial brood around, being the earth mother she was heralded as.
… contd.
Four people have been sacked from a gun factory in central Russia after 79 Kalashnikov rifles went missing.
The missing guns were unwittingly bought by a local resident. He purchased several wooden boxes from a passing truck as firewood. When he opened them, he came across a stash of AK-47s and magazines.
The purchase was a real bargain, as the 57-year-old paid a modest 500 rubles [about $16] for the boxes. Apart from the Kalashnikov rifles, the boxes were filled with various Kalashnikov accessories and 253 magazines.
The boxes were supposed to have been taken to a recycling plant, but the enterprising truck driver decided to sell them instead.
The driver who reportedly took the boxes for disposal said that he thought they were empty. It is still a mystery though as to how he failed to notice that seven of them were considerably heavier than the others.
CHARLOTTE, NC — My fingers are aching, theres so much typing because of all the FREEBIES I was able to find today for Dions Daily Deals! Make sure you read through all of them, because Im pretty sure theres something for everyone in here.
Free YoCrunch Yogurt: Heres what they posted on the company Facebook: SNAP A PIC OF OUR NEW CUPS PROMOTION!
The new YoCrunch Pie Parfaits and Greek Parfaits with toasted almonds have hit the shelves! We challenge you to find them at a store nearby. Just take a picture of the new YoCrunch on your grocers shelves, post it to our wall (noting the location) by Jan. 23 and well send you a coupon for YoCrunch.
Free Body Lotion: Check out this offer from Bath and Body Works. This is for their new Pink Chiffon scented lotion, and its $3.50 value you can get for FREE with no purchase necessary!
Free Personalized Valentines Day Card: Tiny Prints makes some very nice, high-quality personalized cards for all occasions. For a limited time, check them out on Facebook here. You can personalize and ship to your home, a free Valentines Day card! (Im making one for Ev that says on the front I love being married to a fantasy football star! HAH!
Free Gas-X Strips: This product claims to get rid of gas, in the convenience in a thin dissolving strip. (Think: like Listerine breath fresheners.)
Surprise: Duncan Hines has a baking club online you can join here, that will give you a special surprise: Im not sure what it is, though it could be coupons or freebies.
Free Baby Gifts: Enfamil formula company is giving away what they call Up to $250 in gifts here. Youll get samples from their baby formula lines, along with lots of coupons and what appears to be a diaper bag/baby bag in the picture online.
These deals are bound to go fast, so get lsquo;em while you can. See you on TV tonight.