Comments for MagCrit Blog

Comment on Bipartisanship means being two-faced by katiephotiadis

katiephotiadis — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:38:05 +0000

Christina–
What an awesome critique! I really like what you have to say about GQ’s Switzerland-like bipartisanship. It’s interesting that GQ–unlike a lot of other magazines–decided to play it neutral. (Although, I agree, how bipartisan can you be if you choose Nixon as the Republican mascot?) Overall, it’s a really well written and engaging critique.

Comment on Barack and Roll by Claire Voiante

Claire Voiante — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:07:18 +0000

I am certainly excited about what an Obama presidency will bring to our beleaguered nation. He is very articulate to be sure, and seemingly has the intellect and composure to be successful in the highest office of the most powerful nation on earth. However, I am a little skeptical about his level of experience, alleged ties to unsavory organizations and religious affiliations. I voted for him, primarily because of bitterness at the incompetence of the Bush administration. I remain disenfranchised with America so far in the 21st Century, and came across a political graphic that does a fairly good job in capturing this sentiment.

http://www.cafepress.com/usa21stcentury

Comment on Jann says he wants an evolution by Anuya

Anuya — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:08:36 +0000

Hey.
I like your critique a lot, it was so different from the rest, it immediately grabbed my attention. (Just like Rolling Stone’s old size used to, but hey, like you said, I’m trying to roll with it.)

Comment on Ebony Finishing Last in Race for Web advances by Eric Easter

Eric Easter — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:20:13 +0000

Actually you couldn’t be more wrong, though you are certainly entitled to your opinion and preferences.

In fact, EbonyJet.com (which is a year old) is not Ebony or Jet and not intended to be, but is in fact a third daily online brand focused on opinion and perspective. All of its content is original to the site and purposely not reflective of the magazine in look, feel, content or tone. That itself is an innovative approach that reflects how all print publications are now moving on the web.

For the Ebony brand in particular, moving toward a model not based on the magazine has meant a 2570% increase in revenue and an exponential increase in traffic beyond how the site performed when it was Ebony.com and filled with content from the magazine.

Since its launch the site has brought 3.3. million NEW people to the overall Ebony brand, only about 15% of whom subscribe to the magazine or for that matter, even familiar with the brand. Additionally the audience for the site is 18-49 while the audience for the mags are 38-plus. In pursuing a non-mag based strategy, EbonyJet.com has expanded the brand’s audience to a younger, wealthier, more highly educated and more global demo.

By definition, magazine subscribers tend not to be web users for the same magazine. Newspapers are different, People who love magazines love the print version. In general, online has not been a huge driver of new subscriptions but rather a way for subscribers to manage already existing subs.

As for bells and whistles, as Google and Huffington Post have proven, simple and basic works in a highly effective way. Some won’t like, but others will.

Comment on Analyze This by emilylonelygirl

emilylonelygirl — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 15:25:23 +0000

Excellent post – love the way you write.

I have DID, and your delightful “digs” at the magazine tickled several parts of my brain…perhaps well beyond my prefrontal cortex. We get a lot more action in the amygdala and and hippocamus.

Maybe you’d like to know what your “stuff” reveals about you…internally or externally. And what if your external “stuff” is a collection of several parts of you? (“I SWEAR I did not buy that hideous sweater!”)

Emily

Comment on Design Simplicity at Vanity Fair by Randel

Randel — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:44:09 +0000

i am a big fan of annie leibowitz and vanity fair.
though the magazine is not like it was in the late 90’s early 80’s.
i was a big reader then, but not so much know.

Comment on Vanity Fair, like Monroe, is a tease by Mark Bellinghaus

Mark Bellinghaus — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 07:12:37 +0000

And your story would be so much nicer if it was signed with a real name instead some anonymous ghost posting which is so typical for the biggest Monroe hater and sellout there is: Melinda Mason.
I like your article in general, but you–whoever you truly are–are missing the point.
VANITY FAIR has been duped completely. And if not, they knew about what was going on and threw it out right on time for the presidential election. Since we all know that JFK was a Democrat, we can count one and one together and see that VANITY FAIR was pulling Marilyn Monroe & John F. Kennedy from their graves — again, in order to taint some beaten up legends and of course: the democrats.

It does not take a genius to see that this stupid article ‘The Things She Left Behind,’ is complete fabrication.

Sad low for the ‘investigative’ and ‘modern’ VANITY FAIR.

One last advise to Brandon Graydon: instead of polishing your Emmy Award, get some investigative writers and no story tellers such as Sam Kashner.

Comment on The Cheese Factor by Thomas Matthews

Thomas Matthews — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:36:22 +0000

Thanks for taking a look at Wine Spectator’s special issue on cheese. For those skeptical that cheese could be worth $30 a pound, I suggest trying our recipe for a grilled cheese sandwich made with true Cheddar and French Comte. You may never melt “American” cheese again.

Thomas Matthews
Executive editor
Wine Spectator

Comment on Matt Taibbi: Politics in Poor Taste by Rob D

Rob D — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:36:18 +0000

Editors Note: “stream of consciousness” not “stream of conscience.” I regret this error

Comment on entertainment with a side of wit by NLP

NLP — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:34:18 +0000

Good article, although Mr. Laurie, ever trying to be diplomatic, finally ticked me off. I personally think it’s insulting to a lot of fans to say:

“Laurie, however, has a different reaction to the fans’ discontent. ”What would that be like if you said that to a person? If you said that to your partner, ‘You know, I used to love you when you…”’ he trails off. ”I think your partner would think, ‘Well, that kind of means you don’t love me, then. It’s not much consolation saying you used to love me when. If you don’t love me now, you don’t love me.”’”

It also sounds very conceited, which I’m certain is NOT at all what he intended, but it comes out that way.

He & his co-stars did a brilliant job for 3 seasons with subtlely nuanced acting. Not only that, but he and Jennifer Morrison both talked in a number of interviews about their chemistry, and bam!, the show decides to drop Morrison into a deep well. So, thanks a lot for getting us emotionally invested. We’re sorry you did such a good job acting for 3 years that we’re upset at the show’s 180-degree turn.

And promising to give her screen time for “developing” her romance with Chase is supposed to appease us? I don’t think so — quite the contrary — ick! All you really have to do to appease us is to tell us that there is hope for the future. I’m not in a hurry, take your time.