Some insightful observations on the world of magazines. Taking a page out of Real Simple, I’ll try to simply categorize what folks liked (and didn’t like) about their particular magazine choice:
Courtney on Real Simple
Liked: Simple content that serves to provide the reader solutions to everyday problems.
Disliked: Where are the longer, deeper stories?
Alyssa Gerety on People
Liked: Had its own “diction”. Its own voice. Plus, the magazine lived up to its name: It tells stories about People, often succinctly.
Disliked: Nothing much.
Gina on Time
Liked: The photography. As Gina puts it, “Some [photos in Time] are tragic, some are humorous, and all of them come with a high emotional impact. The goal of photojournalism is capturing the essence of the story in a picture.”
Disliked: Not much in this particular issue.
Michelle on Cosmo
Liked: Pages like “Cosmo at a Glance” and “Hot Sheet” that deliver a lot of info in a short amount of space. She also writes, “People like me buy this magazine to escape, to relax, to feel pleasure in reading about light topics in a world of heavy and serious ones. To me, Cosmopolitan is a guilty pleasure.”
Disliked: Not much in this issue.
Loulou on Entertainment Weekly
Liked: That it appealed to a target audience of movie buffs. The imagery was appealing in some cases.
Disliked: In some cases, the imagery overwhelmed the magazine
Alyssa Gutjahr on Fast Company
Liked: A couple of stories, one on China and one on Haiti. Otherwise...
Disliked: A lot of that the stories did not seem very stimulating and a cover that “I do not like the feel of... Literally.” (Nicely put.)
Jackie on Time
Liked: The cover is compelling, and sidebars to the cover story (on the Tucson tragedy) that relate to society beyond the Arizona city. The overall graphics, too.
Disliked: Confusing front-of-the-book layout.
Ally on People
Liked: That it fulfilled “its niche to entertain and to appeal to audiences fascinated by Hollywood.”
Disliked: People’s “lack of substance was quite apparent.”
Adrian on Men’s Health:
Liked: A “double cover” (which MH will use maybe twice a year) and some “interesting longer articles” that were difficult to find because of ...
Disliked: A confusing layout, made more difficult by the number of ads.
Sarah on Real Simple:
Liked: A simple layout with a wide variety of content.
Disliked: Lack of in-depth pieces. “This magazine would have benefitted from some balance of its content – a few more investigative or narrative pieces and a few less guides and lists.” Also, that a page of recipes had been ripped out. (Sorry, my wife snagged it.)
Debbie on Inc.
Liked. That it appealed to a particular nice audience.
Disliked: That right now that niche (business people) doesn’t include her.
Megan on Time
Liked: The Briefing section. Great way to catch up on the news.
Disliked: Aspects of the design. Headlines used the “same bold, boring font” that “gives the magazine a business feeling.”
Nick on Fortune
Liked: How the graphics and photos brought life to a staid topic.
Disliked: Not much (at least in this issue). -- Charlie
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