The Magazine Rack: Newsmagazines, Cooks Source & Reviews
By Steve Black, Coll. of Saint Rose, Albany, NY Dec 16, 2010December 2010 marks the end of print for U.S. News & World Report. A November 5 internal memo explaining the decision quickly found its way online. Editor Brian Kelly explains that the December issue will be the last print monthly and subscriptions will be filled by other publishers. He doesn't say what title(s) subscribers will receive instead. U.S. News' special editions (e.g., college and grad guides, hospital and personal finance guides) will be sold at newsstands and through unspecified targeted distribution. It would be nice if libraries had the option to subscribe to those special issues, but it's still unclear whether that will be possible.
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Another big development on the newsweekly front is Newsweek's merger with the Daily Beast. Tina Brown (former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker) is now Editor in Chief of both publications. Word is that the print Newsweek will continue, but that Newsweek.com will be folded into thedailybeast.com. Matthew Creamer writes in Advertising Age that this might not be as crazy as it sounds, not least because of the efficiencies gained by maintaining one site instead of two. Lots of folks disagree, for reasons including those cogently described at Save Newsweek.com. Of the many compelling points made on that site, one is of special interest to librarians—"What happens to Newsweek's (still-unleveraged) archives?" Of course "leverage" translates to "charge for," so brace yourself. Keeping those musty old volumes on the shelves might turn out to be a smart decision.
The printed magazine Newsweek is apparently losing money at a disturbing pace. What will Brown do for (should I say "to"?) it? If Newsweek survives, I suspect it will morph into a very different publication from the one our patrons are used to. Of course, it's already lost the breadth and substance news magazines had in the pre-Internet days. If you haven't already considered supplementing Time, Newsweek, and the soon-to-be-no-more U.S. News with others like the Economist or the Christian Science Monitor, now might be a good time to make a move.
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The other big story in November was the justified outrage that erupted when Cooks Source editor Judith Griggs blatantly "borrowed" a writer's work. According to the L.A. Times, food blogger Monica Gaudio discovered a piece she'd written had been republished without her permission at the Cooks Source website. When she complained, Griggs responded in an email that the web is considered "public domain" so Monica should be happy that Cooks Source didn't lift the whole article and put someone else's name on it. Furthermore, not only would Gaudio not be getting paid, she should pay Cooks Source for the editing work on the republished piece. Gaudio posted the email in her blog. Shortly afterward the Cooks Source Facebook page was inundated with angry posts. A story in the Daily Hampshire Gazette summarizes what happened, and Griggs's apology, explanation, and request for forgiveness was posted in mid-November on the Cooks Source homepage at www.cookssource.com, which, as of November 21, no longer exists.
Notwithstanding mitigating factors that might possibly raise a touch sympathy for Griggs, the appalling attitude she expressed about copyright hit a raw nerve because of the vitally important issues such misbehavior raises. Jim Romanesko of PoynterOnline shares aggrieved writer Jon Littman's experience of having his work used without payment or attribution by an online publication. Littman writes, "There's money to be made in 'borrowing the work' of journalists. Why pay for journalism when you can just 'cut, paste and post?' Why create when you can copy?"
Reliable information about these and many other media news stories may be found at the Poynter Institute's website. PoynterOnline isn't a magazine, but I heartily recommend it as an excellent source of information about the art and practice of journalism.
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The interesting developments with newsmagazines and plagiarism leave space this month for only two reviews of new periodicals.
Glimpse. 2008. q. print: $210; PDF online: $60. ISSN 1945-3906. Aud: Ac, GA (Subject: Vision. Issue examined: Issue 6, Summer 2010)
Independently published Glimpse is an exceptionally engaging and visually attractive journal of art and science. Founder and editor Megan Hurst's intent is to produce a publication that "quenches the artist's thirst for scientific understanding, the scientist's thirst for beautiful design, and the curious person's desire for resonant inquiry across fields." Hurst succeeds. Tracy Gleason's "Invisible Friends: The Creation of Imaginary Friends in Childhood and Beyond," featuring amusing and insightful anecdotes, is a great read for any parent. M.A. Persinger's "The Simulation of the God Experience Within the Laboratory" describes effects of magnetic waves targeted at the right hemisphere of the brain. Carolyn Arcabascio contributes a discussion ("Decoding the Neurological Basis of Shamanic Visions") of various ways the mind may enter a state where the "reptilian" behavioral brain links with the limbic (emotional) brain. Other content includes some poetry, creative nonfiction, and an essay reviewing the films Requiem, Where the Wild Things Are, and Harvey. Although the PDF version is less expensive, the gorgeously produced print edition is highly recommended. Beautiful and original, Glimpse is an excellent choice for academic libraries and public libraries that can afford it.
Holmes. 2010. 10/yr. $19.90. ISSN 1920-2423. Aud: GA (Subject: Dwellings—Remodeling. Issue examined: Vol. 2, No.1, Dec./Jan. 2011)
Holmes: The Magazine To Make It Right is an extension of the brand created by Canadian contractor and media personality Mike Holmes, who's best known for diagnosing and fixing renovations gone wrong. The examined issue marks the one-year anniversary of publication in Canada, and it is the premier issue in the United States. The U.S. launch is well financed, complete with a bus tour of major cities and distribution to supermarkets and big-box home stores. The style and substance of Holmes is fairly typical of shelter magazines, with sound but not in-depth advice, except it focuses more on a dwelling's "guts," like insulation, foundations, and the plumbing, electrical, and heating systems. Articles in the examined issue address how to winterize your home, tips for building a garage, home security, and special concerns when building in disaster-prone areas. The writing is geared to home owners who want jobs done right but don't have the experience or qualifications to do it themselves. Including the many ads and product placements typical of shelter magazines, Holmes doesn't offer anything radically new or different, but it is a good choice for libraries looking to expand holdings in home maintenance and repair.
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