Last month Roy Greenslade, Guardian journalist and one of my former lecturers in Magazine Journalism, wrote that US publishers are remaining cheerful despite the closure of several momentous magazines.
2009 was the year publications closed up shop in the UK too. And many survivors still had to make redundancies – from Bauer Media to The National Magazine Company, which in February 2009 announced they would be making 15 per cent of staff redundant.
However, it seems that some haven’t heard the news (no pun intended), as new magazines are still entering the delicate market.
Gentlewoman, a new women’s fashion mag from the founders of Fantastic Man, will launch this March.
Another newbie is Popshot, a poetry and illustration magazine, “intent on hoodwinking poetry back from the clammy hands of tweed jackets and school anthologies and funeral readings”. Apparently.
Everyone is talking about Twilight. In fact, New Moon has only recently come to the big screen but MTV says fans are already desperate for more information about the third movie in the saga – Eclipse. But it’s not just the teenage obsessed fans that are driving the fascination. There are Twi-hards, like me, who have given in to their inner teenager and swoon over the love triangle that is Edward, Bella and Jacob. Even worse, is how my friends and I admit how our heart jumps when Edward Cullen struts over to Bella with his silver Volvo placed perfectly in the background (that’s Robert Patterson for those who have been living in a cave).
Despite Twimania taking over our lives, and some may say this epidemic has been exhausted, I couldn’t resist a blog post. My friend and I went to the cinema with the belief we would be the only twenty-somethings there, surrounded either side by giggling girls. We weren’t. A group of men, of around the same age, sat a few rows behind us. They left the cinema fulfilled and in high spirits.
Genuinely speaking, however, the filmmakers know their audience – females. There are a lot more half-naked men this time around. Taylor Lautner, who plays Jacob, has his top off in nearly every scene. But we also witness Bella’s heartache over her break-up with Edward, the heavy smooching between Bella and Edward, and the near kisses between Bella and Jacob.
In fact, my friend and I have already made plans to see it again this week…
Stephen Gately has only recently died, his funeral was today, yet a sea of spite has hit the Moir island. Yes, I’m talking about Jan Moir’s article on Stephen Gately in The Daily Mail, (effectively saying he died because he was gay), which caused quite a stir. The original headline read “Why there was nothing ‘natural’ about Stephen Gately’s death.” However, since publication the article has been changed online.
But, I don’t need to defend the recently deceased Boyzone singer. Charlie Brooker, from The Guardian, came back with the response: “Why there was nothing ‘human’ about Jan Moir’s column on the death of Stephen Gately”.
And if you’re not satisfied, and you believe that Moir warrants her comeuppance, then the Press Complaints Commission has set up a link for those who wise to complain.
Lets talk about the X Factor. Or, more importantly Robbie Williams’ performance on the show. Tonight, the 35-year-old star pranced across the stage, made “scary eyes”, and seemed to stump Dermot O’Leary, the show‘s host, who looked rather perplexed as he asked Williams questions following his performance. Was the star on drugs or just excited about his latest comeback? Perhaps Williams was just nervous about singing in front of the hard-edged Simon Cowell.
30 seconds passed before comments accumulated on Twitter. From “Robbie Williams (is) clearly not off the smack then” to “what the hell is up with Robbie Williams? Was he high or what? His eyes looked like they were about to pop out!”
However, some fans did rush to his side. One tweeted: “(I) just think Robbie Williams was so happy, shocked, scared, and nervous to be on the stage. Not on drugs. Come on people.”
Audition to become a new-style Tory MP – or something like that. Eric Pickles, the Conservative chairman, has said that nearly 20 more MPs are likely to stand down at the next election. What’s more, Pickles told The Guardian that their leaving will give the party the chance to bring in 30 new conservatives with little, or no, background in politics. He said: “We’ve got ourselves a good mix: lots of doctors, lot of social workers, lots of community nurses…people who’ve got involvement with the community outside the political process.”
This idea’s brilliant. Or it’s a cunning plan to generate some hype and extra popularity points among the general public. It could be both – but I doubt it.
We’ve been together for a week. It’s going well – hard work, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m hopelessly in love with Wired, the business and technology magazine.
What could possibly go wrong? As long as I stay away from asking my editor these questions, I figure I’ll be okay:
1. “Wow, you look really young in the editor’s letter, when was it taken?!”
2. “No I haven’t seen your copy of this month’s issue, what does it look like? Is it any good?”
3. “How do I turn this computer on?”
4. “I’m not really interested in technology.”
5. “The ZX Spectrum, that’s the wave length of light, isn’t it?”
Spin, deceit, playing the system and hiding the truth may all have been regarded as defining descriptors for the last two decades. Dishonesty, in the broadest sense, became a way of life for many. People were dishonest to themselves regarding their ability to repay bank loans and debt. Banks were only too willing to play the same game where short term gain blinkered any perception of long term problems.
Even now, few utter the “C” word – corruption. But the system is corrupted in the broadest sense and individuals must take their share of the blame.
The recent round up of corrupted MPs has crystallised the change we appear to be witnessing. One MP appeared on the TV programme Have I Got News for You and boasted of the expenses he was able to claim. The same MP was more recently seen to be ashamed of his actions.
There appears to have been a realisation that the corrupted system was not victimless or sustainable. Dishonesty can only work for a minority of individuals who may avoid detection by a combination of luck and ingenuity. It could never become a system in itself.
So, are we witnessing an end to an era of dishonesty? Can look forward to being able to believe what we are told? Or, is this just wishful thinking?
Swine flu is taking over and infecting us all – that is, the virus is monopolising our news. A Google search for “swine flu” today, yielded 200 million hits.
There are 900 confirmed cases across five continents, proving the virus has spread from Mexico. But have we reached a global pandemic? Or, is this the product of the media’s interest in doomsday scenarios? Well, I’m still waiting for bird flu.
Yes, Amazon has apologised for the “glitch” that saw 57,310 titles being removed from the sales charts. Many of which involved gay and lesbian material. But has everyone forgotten that they originally lied about the removal of the books? Amazon said they had been removed as they contained “adult material”. Where does censorship stop? Or is this a sneaky step towards total suppression?
My favorite comment so far is that from author Gore Vidal: “What kind of childish game is this? Why don’t they just burn the books? They’d be better off and it’s very visual on television.”
Madonna has left Malawi after a court rejected the adoption of Chifundo “Mercy” James due to residency rules.
Madge is said to be appealing against the ruling. Yet, I understand why (and to some extent agree) to the reasoning for the failed adoption.
There is a requirement that prospective parents be resident in Malawi for 18 to 24 months. Why should Madonna be treated differently and be exempt from these regulations? The judge said: “By removing the very safeguard that is supposed to protect our children, the courts by their pronouncements could actually facilitate trafficking of children by some unscrupulous individuals.”
And what about the other 2 million orphans in Malawi Madonna?
rhianowen