I realized the other day that I haven't been reading many magazines lately. I wondered if something was wrong with me. Have I come down with a disease? Have I forgotten how much I LOVE reading magazines? WTF!? Once I gained a little control, I began to analyze. One, I haven't been reading them because I simply haven't had 5 minutes to myself in months. Two, I don't feel the need to read them "as" much anymore because I'm spending more time online reading blogs. I kid you not, I have over 600 emails waiting to be read, many of them blog subscriptions.
What about you? Do you read blogs more than mags lately? Do you get what you need out of them?
I'm still in shock that I don't have my usual 10 foot pile of mags stashed in a corner in my room waiting to be read. My "normal" routine is to buy them either because I know and love the mag or because the cover grabbed my attention (yes, not always smart, but I'm a sucker). A while back I thought perhaps I should start a group, MA (Magazine Anonymous) and hold meetings in my living room, regardless if anyone else attended.
Glossies are fantastic. They hold the keys to the hottest trends, celebs, red carpet, budget-friendly finds, a few stories here and there but ALOT of ads. I won't name names, but there is one particular mag I love, but half of the pages are 2 page spreads for (fill in the blank with your favorite designer). I know these designers and department stores need to advertise their collections but the money they dish out is, (I CANNOT believe I am about to use this disgusting word, because I am NOT a fan of the owner of it, but... Bananas! There I said it. UGH! I feel violated). Anyways... the money could basically feed an entire village. Do they really think that the majority of women (or men) reading these mags will run out and purchase that $2,700 new leather handbag? If they do, they are kidding themselves. They probably wouldn't dish out the money if it wasn't working for them, but is it working for them? Yes, those magazines do need the big advertisers, but why do they charge us to buy them then? Shouldn't we be able to read them for free? They are stocked full of ads that we don't even pay attention to. Why should we have to pay to turn the page.
With the world starting to fall apart due to global warming and every other $hitty thing we have done to ((Mother Earth )) <--(halo) my guess is that all magazines will be obsolete in the future. Many mags have already gone the e-route and I am all for it. But would I even have the time to read those? Good question.
In the blogger world today, and I can only speak as a fashion blogger, I have just as much access to designers, trends, colors, sponsors as a magazine. I don't quite have the budget (yet), but I do have the skill and knowledge, along with some of my other fellow blogistas. Should magazine editors eventually be nervous about the takeover of fashion reporting? Hmmm...something to ponder. I have my own suspicions....
(using my best professor voice)
So in conclusion to this colossal question, my answer is Yes. Hell YES!
p.s. If you are still an avid mag reader (which I could start up again soon because that is the curse of being an MA member) then remember to please recycle your glossies. Give to a friend or leave them in the lobby at your dentist. I can't even begin to think how many trees we are killing just to see "who wore what and where".
8 comments :
I'm a die hard magazine lover. I agree that some magazines are littered with an overabundance of ads. But I work at a local magazine and you'd be shocked at how much paper, printing and postage costs. Prices keep rising exorbitantly for the publishing industry and those high ad prices aren't just to pad the pocketbooks of employees - it really is to keep the magazine afloat.
I always have been and always will be a mag gal! But i just have less time to watch TV these days i am on line blogging or reading blogs!
I would love to think that fashion bloggers are taking over the world, since I am one! Both magazines and fashion bloggers have their plus points, just depends on what angle you're looking for.
Thanks for your comments ladies! I'm loving that I have opened this up for discussion. Keep em' coming! xo
Gosh i hadn't really noticed the decline in my purchases of the holy grails ie. British Vogue, Elle, Nylon, i-D etc. until i read this post...
Eek you are soo right, compared to my buying 2 glossies a week i am currently only purchasing about 2 a month. I do love a good editorial shoot and will buy a magazine when i'm aware a certain photographer has shot it or if something catches my eye, but i'm so sick and tired of the lazy articles and regurgitated beauty how to's that are dredged up year upon year that are included in the lesser mags.
I read fashion blogs daily and truth be told i find them alot more palletable than having trends and re-hashed articles forced down your gullet by fashion mags which are so full of advertising it's hard to find a written article now.
I know some lucky bloggers are given pieces by designers and brands to promote on their site but not to such a huge extent as the glossies.
I suppose if designers have caught onto cheap and accessible advertising through the scurge that is us fashion bloggers then you're right, with alot of my favourite bloggers evolving daily and becoming better writers and photographers then hell yes the glossies should be stepping up their game
Your post hits the mark but I, personally, do not not read as many magazines as I did earlier because of the abundant ads or because there's a lack of creative energy in the editorials (except for a few like Pop, French and Italian Vogue, Purple, Dazed & Confused) but because I don't feel the brutal honesty while reading a magazine that I experience while reading a blog!
Magazines are mostly under pressure from the advertisers so suppose that Marc Jacobs is one of their clients, they're not going to say his fall 09 show was trash bc he might pull out!
Bloggers aren't under this pressure and so you can bet that what they say will be their own opinion and no one else's.
That's how I feel anyway :)
thanks for sharing your thoughts ladies! xoxo
I completely agree with you. I used to buy magazines a lot but I've stopped now when it occurred to me that fashion blogs are actually more updated (not to mention cheaper) compared to fashion magazines. Also, I think the content in magazines can be found in blogs as well (albeit in different forms).
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