My three month subscription to People Magazine started off promising. In the past, I bought it as a splurge at the airport or when there was a special collector’s edition. However once I started subscribing my opinion of the magazine only went downhill. Between three sentence book reviews and fluff pieces about presidential candidates, I came to the realization that there’s really not a place for weekly tabloids in the market. Except, that is, to serve as a place for celebrities to sell their baby photos or for reality stars to make a quick buck.
As much as I don’t care for tabloids or weekly celebrity magazines, I love celebrity gossip sites like Perez Hilton. It’s unfathomable (and stupid) that something important would happen and then I would wait a full week to read about it in a magazine when I can find it online in five minutes or less? I’ll cut tabloid magazines some slack when it comes to technology, because, let’s just face it, they will never be faster than a web search.
What I hate most about weekly magazines like People is that as a reader I feel like I’m being bought and sold to the highest paying celebrity. Surely when they pay Brad and Angelina millions of dollar to print photos of their children, they are banking on the fact that readers will come out in droves to purchase the issue. It’s that aspect that’s slimy. And, let’s be honest, I can just wait until someone scans the photos online where I can see them for free.
I thought subscribing to People would be exciting, but after the glow wore off, I hated even seeing it in my mailbox. Flipping through the same Star Tracks I saw online five days earlier. Reading stories I heard about weeks ago. And I just have to ask: What’s the point?
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I think the bigger question is “Do we need celeb gossip at all?”. (My answer is no, yours may vary, but I think just comparing print to web media misses the point.)
The culture of celebrity voyeurism is whole other topic for another Magazine Monday!
No, we don’t. Or at least I don’t… I’ve never understood tabloids. I try not to be rude about it, because I have lots of friends who love them (and like watching shows like The Kardashians equally). We all need some form of mental bubblegum, and that’s fine. But this has never done it for me. My take: I follow my favorite actors and musicians in terms of their work; I don’t give a damn about their personal lives. Why would I be interested in the minute details of a celebrity’s life more than that of some stranger off the street? *SOME* of the celebs in People are truly exceptionally talented people; many are not. For the talented people, I care about what they are talented at: acting, directing, writing, producing. For the not-so-talented, I’d be happy if I never saw one more headline with their name in it.
I definitely get your view point! I’m always so confused why people by tabloids. Even if you enjoy reading about Kim K. & co, they why not just read online?
I think you’re right–it’s more useful to follow people’s career paths and their creative work than reading complete trash about them in magazines.
Also! It seems like more and more, magazines are just a way for celebrities to make a quick buck. Why bother?
I think People is known for being a bit of fluff and also for being more kind than some of the others. They don’t really get into mean-spirited gossip which I give them credit for. But, yeah, I don’t read any tabloids either.
Laura Connell recently talked about Big brands have landed online at John Greed Jewellery
My mom told me that People used to be more like Newsweek or basically more legit, but has transformed into this celebrity-fueled publication. Needless to say, I am over it!