MAGAZINES : 2007 a year of periodical reflection
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008
Were American magazines borrowing a page from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and doing the “Time Warp” again ? It seemed that a lot of magazines were living in the past in 2007... was the present that dull ? Maybe so. Rolling Stone at least had a good reason to be excited about 1967. That’s the year Jann Wenner’s pub got off the ground as a voice of the counterculture, so of course they did a special issue.
Spin worked up a frenzy over 1977 because that’s when punk rock took music’s center stage.
And we’ll even cut some slack to U. S. News & World Report, which profiled 1957. But we can’t help but wonder, since 2008 is 50 years after 1958, will there be a salute to that year this year ? Probably.
Celebrity reporting continued unabated, although circulation at some mags dropped, due in part from the surge of online sites such as Tmz. com (www. tmz. com ) and expanded celebrity coverage on TV. The response ? Several raised newsstand prices, including Us Weekly, OK, People and In Touch.
One of the year’s oddities — Time magazine published “The Time 100,” a list of people it said were the world’s most influential. But it didn’t include its Person of the Year, Vladimir Putin, president of Russia. But Kate Moss made the list.
That aside, Time took a page from the Madonna playbook and reinvented itself. The results are very worthwhile and the venerable news publication finds a new relevance.
With its Winter 2007 issue, Innovative Home also remade itself into a publication that focuses on the booming eco-design trend to “design with a difference (read: in an architecturally stunning and socially responsible way ).”
Sexiest man ? Matt Damon, says People. Sexiest woman ? Charlize Theron, says Esquire. Best trains ? Rod Stewart’s model-train layout was the cover story of Model Railroader’s December issue. New frontiers ? Magazines expanded their online presence and moved into mobile-phone content as well.
NEW TITLES This we know for certain. New magazines were launched in 2007. How many ? Well, depends on how you count ’em. MediaFinder. com, which tracks only multi-issue titles, reported 389 new titles. Another count, which included those that published once and disappeared, totaled 636, according to the Web site www. mrmagazine. com, operated by University of Mississippi professor Samir Husni. Among the notable new magazines: Frank. A free (always a great price ) magazine from the Clinton School of Public Service. The semiannual publication’s first issue focused on race relations and included a contribution by Car- lotta Walls Lanier, one of the Little Rock Nine, who reflected on her experiences during the integration of Central High School; and David Eisenhower, grandson of President Eisenhower, on his grandfather’s role in the integration of Little Rock Central High School.
Garden & Gun. The new publication has evolved into an interesting, sometimes indepth look at Southern life and culture.
Need. As the publication states in its masthead, it’s not out to save the world but writing stories about those who are. The current issue has a feature on innovative philanthropy with comments from former President Clinton, Michael J. Fox and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Eldr. A sane, intelligent and often-humorous publication for upscale retired men and women. Men’s Health Living. Promising, not-too-fluffy lifestyle mag for upscale men.
CALLING IT QUITS Among those hanging it up: House and Garden, Weekly World News, Antenna, Premiere, Life, Teen People, Elle Girl, Shock, FHM, Weekend, Shop Etc., Celebrity Living and Shape en Espanol. Some disappeared completely, while others (such as Elle Girl ) continue online.
We thought Martha Stewart might have been bullet-proof. But her company will cease publication of Blueprint, which always seemed unclear on its mission. Stuff was downsized from stand-alone magazine to an insert for Maxim. Mac Addict was redesigned and relaunched as Mac Life.
DISCOVERIES OF 2007 The quirky The Polishing Stone is a quarterly lifestyle magazine devoid of ads but loaded with positive stories. It’s refreshingly unflashy in layout and design. The Winter 2007 issue has a fun cookie primer (with recipes ) and a feature on transitoriented development. If you loved the Whole Earth Catalog, you’ll love Stone.
The Sun first arose in 1974, but the October issue was especially strong with its fine stories on the Sufi mystic poet Rumi and writer Coleman Barks. Barks, known for his translations of the works of Rumi, reflects on sensuality and “the path with no name.” Also good that month was Krista Bremer’s story about what her life is like when her husband, who is a Muslim, observes the holy month of Ramadan.
Thoughtful and literate Parabola, which focuses on “tradition, myth and the search for meaning,” had an outstanding theme in its fall 2007 issue. “Holy Earth” looked at our planet through the spiritual / ecological / cultural eyes of Judaism, Hinduism, science, Zen Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, aboriginal cultures and more.
Astronomy magazine’s December issue explored a planetary system that contains the seeds of life and a 2008 guide to sky events, such as seeing Saturn’s rings in March.
Cooking Light’s September issue celebrated 20 years with 20 all-time favorite recipes, including garlic fries and spinach and artichoke dips.
Perhaps it’s the times. With all the books on religion and violence this past year, the spring / summer issue of the scholarly Harvard Divinity Bulletin had a thoughtprovoking article in William T. Cavanaugh’s examination of the “conventional wisdom” associated with religion and violence in “Does Religion Cause Violence ?” Cavanaugh is associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.
I discovered the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists while at the University of Arkansas in the ’ 60 s. Founded by a group of atomic scientists more than 60 years ago, the magazine focuses on humanity’s potential for self-destruction.
My reconnection was sparked by the January / February issue, which featured its Doomsday clock on the cover, now set at five minutes until midnight. As editor Mark Strauss wrote about the issue, “leading experts on science and security offer a grim assessment of our present trajectory, but also find room for optimism.” E-mail:
ewidner@arkansasonline. com
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
