Are there too many magazines?

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I read some blurb in Guardian Media about 2 new weekly "men's" magazines (there was a thread abt them somewhere here, they look rubbish to me) and it got me thinking (again) about just how many magazines there are, and about just how many of them seem to be minor variations on the same theme. Like, do we really need Mojo and Uncut, for example, when they seem to cover so much that is similar. What about all the sub-loaded lad-mags, or the sub-Cosmo woman mags. There's loads of them! Look at the cars/transport section of the big newsagent. Look at the magazine contents therein - the same picture of the new vauxhall or whatever, beside very similar editorial, in every title. Narrow it down somewhat and look at the classic cars section. Why so many (I can think of four general classic car titles off the top of my head) again all covering much the same stuff - it "Classic Cars" doesn't cover the mk10 Jaguar this year, it certainly will next year, and they did a feature on it 2 yrs ago anyway etc. It seems to be the same for magazines whatever your interest. Why is this? Is it desirable? Since I dumped most of the regular titles I bought (I'm down to "Sound on Sound" as the only regular I always buy now) it seems really pointless to me. What a waste of space, resources, thoughts etc.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 12:13 (twenty-two years ago)

It's the homogeneity that's the wack, yeah. Why so few film mags that don't follow the Empire blueprint?

Also, the wackness is the wack. Eg the NME. Nuff said.

― Enrique (Enrique), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 12:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, as a buyer I'd say no, because it means more choice. But for the publisher it's a different matter: less and less seem to survive.

― nathalie (nathalie), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 12:20 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm with you about the homogenity. If we need more magazines, we need DIFFERENT magazines, not just take a successful formula and copy it. The other thing that i hate is gender-subdivided magazines. The world does not need another mens magazine, no. The world doesn't need any more womens magazines, either. It needs magazines which are topic targeted rather than demographic targeted, and doesn't make sexist gender assumptions about the interests of either gender, excluding the opposite gender in the process.

― the river fleet, Tuesday, 20 January 2004 12:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Taking Sides - Nuts vs Zoo Weekly!

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 12:23 (twenty-two years ago)

It's the homogeneity that's the wack, yeah. Why so few film mags that don't follow the Empire blueprint?

Anyone remember Neon magazine? That was a pretty good film mag, irreverent and focused a lot on cult movies. Unfortunately it didnt last long. It just seems that anything that strays from the format goes down the tubes pretty fast.

― michael B, Tuesday, 20 January 2004 12:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Neon was the meant to be the Select to Empire's Q - and look what happened to Select...

― Andrew L (Andrew L), Tuesday, 20 January 2004 12:50 (twenty-two years ago)

five years pass...

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/conde-nast-to-close-gourmet-magazine/?hp

dark fuckin day

― gore vitalic (s1ocki), Monday, 5 October 2009 15:21 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah, I started a thread about it on ILCooking. This is really bumming me out...when I started slashing expenses in the last few years all my magazine subscriptions went, EXCEPT for Gourmet. Fuck!

― Alex Quebec (WmC), Monday, 5 October 2009 15:25 (sixteen years ago)

such a bummer

― gore vitalic (s1ocki), Monday, 5 October 2009 15:38 (sixteen years ago)

sounds like the website will still remain, which is cool--so many awesome recipes

― Mr. Que, Monday, 5 October 2009 15:39 (sixteen years ago)

Gourmet took a major nose dive under Ruth Reichle (sp?) imo. Will not miss the mag, but will continue to use recipes from web.

― quincie, Monday, 5 October 2009 16:10 (sixteen years ago)

Gourmet took a major nose dive under Ruth Reichle (sp?) imo.

In what way?

― Alex Quebec (WmC), Monday, 5 October 2009 16:12 (sixteen years ago)

More focus on restaurants, travel, "lifestyle" stuff and less on home cooking, plus really stupid issues like the rock 'n' roll issue wtf. And the hipster photo layouts, ick.

― quincie, Monday, 5 October 2009 16:14 (sixteen years ago)

magazines that want to focus on niche instead of obeying the insane neocon ALL GROWTH IS AWESOME economic mindset would be able to succeed right now (if not "thrive," it's never going to be a big-money game again) but getting people to look at constant growth as anything but the be-all end-all is an impossibility at this point

which sucks, I am a huge magazine lover but I'm guessing they're doomed & we'll be RIP'ing them three or four at a pass over the next few years.

― a full circle lol (J0hn D.), Monday, 5 October 2009 16:23 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah, the Gourmet Cookbook is my favorite generalist cookbook but the magazine in my cooking-aware adult life (e.g. the last ten years or so) has been full of (to me) boring lifestyle articles.

On the other hand we didn't renew our subscription of Cooks Illustrated either, which is to me a good model of what a food magazine can be.

― Euler, Monday, 5 October 2009 16:55 (sixteen years ago)

I liked the restaurant listings, but not so much the general travelogue stuff that went with them. Agreed on the hipster photo layouts, that took up too much space. Not sure whether I'm going to switch over to Bon Appetite or splurge on Cooks Illustrated -- I see the magazine and website access have separate charges.

― Alex Quebec (WmC), Monday, 5 October 2009 17:10 (sixteen years ago)

I'm guessing they're doomed & we'll be RIP'ing them three or four at a pass over the next few years.

even the venerable Mad Magazine has cut back to a quarterly

http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu92/damien_stone/13484_450x600.jpg

― Pigbin Josh (herb albert), Monday, 5 October 2009 17:18 (sixteen years ago)

Got the last Gourmet in today's mail...bagged with a "Subscribe now!" flyer. ;_;

RIP

― WmC, Saturday, 17 October 2009 02:58 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah, that's sad. We had a subscription to Gourmet for a while.

I hope magazines experience a revival. Online reading is great, but there's a charm to reading -- e.g., the formating, editorial discretion (such as an editor placing some articles above or in-front of others), and the glossy feel of the pages -- that the internet will never replace (for me, at least).

On that note, I'll be re-upping my subscription to Art News soon.

― Daniel, Esq., Saturday, 17 October 2009 03:05 (sixteen years ago)

"That Shamwow Idiot"

― I Am Curious (The Yellow Kid), Saturday, 17 October 2009 03:44 (sixteen years ago)

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