On my many wanderings in cyberspace (how uncool am I?!) I came across a blog that caused me great concern. The girl who writes it seems to be worryingly obsessed with magazines. Monthlies, quarterlies, rare publications, mass publications, Vogue, Dazed and Confused, ID. You name it, she buys it. She works to get money to buy her magazines, she eats less so she can get her hands on the latest issues, she goes into Stockmanns every day just to see if they have anything new, she knows exactly (probably to the hour) when the fresh copy of French Vogue will be on the shelves. Somehow I totally admire her willpower, her passion and her 100% devotion to her obsession. It's a true skill. The thing that worries me with her is the sheer amount of money she spends each month. (Of course that's her business, not mine.) International magazines are never cheap, but totally satisfying to buy. The whole thing got me thinking about magazines. I found some pretty nice ones out there that you may be interested in. I also decided to do some research into online magazines, which are free to download and a good source of eye candy and inspiration.
Somewhere out there I found an online directory of loads of magazines published in Europe and the rest of the World. There are listings for independent publications and for the more well known ones as well. I also found an online directory of PDF magazines. My search (as usual) seemed to take a Baltic/Scandinavian direction (they have the best taste, after all :) ) and I came across a new glossy magazine called B EAST dedicated to fashion/design/general coolness in Eastern Europe. Then I found Bulgaria magazine (some of which you can access online), which is an annual Finnish publication dedicated to life/stuff/weirdness/design/ art/Scandinavianess (which I love). On this note I found a directory of Swedish magazines, many of which you can browse through online. Some other graphic design/arty/fashion publications online are Candy magazine and Stockholm New. The last link goes along the crafting/fashion/objects tangent and is a pretty magazine called Neet that I came across a while ago.
Well, I'm sure all this is just the tip of the iceberg. Feel free to send me more links via comments. I like eye candy as much as the next crazy obsessive :)
Created: 2007-09-22 21:33,
Tags: baltic,
links,
magazines,
media,
scandinavia,
Comments: 0
The only reason I bought Neon magazine in the first place was because there was an interview with Franka Potente inside. What I didn't know back then was that this was the pilot edition of what was to become a brand new, radical and innovative concept in the German magazine market.
If somebody were to ask me what was wrong with the magazine market in Britain, I would say that there were too many lifestyle magazines, too many women's magazines telling me what I should be wearing and most of all too many celebrity magazines full of pointless information. When I took a closer look at the copy of Neon I bought back in June 2003 I realised that I couldn't define it, I couldn't work out what it was trying to tell me. And that's the brilliance of the concept. After a bit of research I discovered that the target audience was young people aged between 20-29. An audience that takes a lot of interest in their future, but still wants to hold on to their past. Another unusual and refreshing concept is that it's aimed at neither men nor women, it's written equally for both. Content-wise it covers all areas of life such as politics, love, travelling, jobs, studying, shopping, philosophy and other random stuff that really captures the zeitgeist. It's informative, well-written, stylish, colourful, got some lovely photography work inside and best of all it's actually readable. Since the pilot was released Neon has become has huge success with a large circulation in Germany and Europe. No wonder, there's nothing else quite like it.
I want you all to get a better picture of what I'm talking about so I thought I'd do a mini dissection of this month's edition of Neon.
Let's start with the front cover:
The title cover has the same format and layout every month with the feature articles and main article summarised for the reader. This month's issue is as follows:
Fear of immigrants: 15 years after the arson attack: what's changed in Rostock-Lichtenhagen?
An interview with Michael Moore: the filmmaker talks about aggressive opponents and self doubt
Warning snake pit! Why rumours spread in the workplace and how you can defend yourself against them
My heart is jetlagged: Tricks to take that holiday feeling back home
Title story: How long does true love last? How to stop a relationship from becoming just a boring routine
The main body of Neon is always split into four main categories: "Savage World" (short stories/interviews by and about people and every day life), "Seeing" (topical themes relating to politics and society), "Feeling" (about love, friendship, sex and psychology), "Knowing" (about jobs, health, the body and day to day life), "Buying" (fashion, things, travelling) and finally "Free time" (everything you want to know about TV, cinema, music, literature, gaming and the Internet).
"savage World"
pages 8-9: "nur eine Frage": this is a regular feature which asks for people's responses to a question. This month's question was "which bank holiday would you like to create?"
page 10: "How do you actually...smoke a peace pipe?". This feature always gives useful tips on how to do something that you've (perhaps) always wanted to do but not known exactly how. Previous topics were "how do you actually...build an igloo?" and "how do you actually...diffuse an atomic bomb?"
At the bottom of this page is another regular feature called "German stories". Readers can write in and retell a funny story that they have witnessed in their town. However, they have to do it in 50 words or less.
page 12: Each month a celebrity creates their own mixtape and explains what their chosen songs mean to them. This month it's Dave Grohl's turn.
page 14: every month 20 facts are published that you'll remember forever even though they are all fairly random and generally useless. For example, wind turbines always turn anti-clockwise, up to now no American president has died in May and architecture was an Olympic discipline between 1912 and 1948.
At the bottom of the page is the feature "myth and truth". This month the myth that Hitler is to thank for building motorways in Germany is put to the test.
"Seeing"
pages 18-26: one of the title stories: an investigative article about the attack that happened against asylum seekers near Rostock 15 years ago.
pages 28-32: an interview with Michael Moore and his new film Sicko about the American health care system.
pages 36-37: a collection of short articles about topical political and social issues in Germany and in the rest of the World. This month, for example, there's an article about how students in Freiburg with an IQ above 130 don't have to pay tuition fees.
pages 44-51: an article about the brand new British pressure group who want to stop us travelling by plane.
"Feeling"
pages 54-63: the main title story: how to keep a relationship going without it becoming boring.
pages 66-67: an interesting take on a personal ad where the singles tell the entire truth about themselves: what they like in bed, what their faults are, what their ex partners say about them... I'm surprised that anyone wants them after this :)
pages 68-72: the A-Z of insulting from arsehole to compulsion (Zwang).
pages 80-81: explanations of why humans do certain things. For example, why we find photos of ourselves horrible.
pages 88: why some women act as sweet as sugar and what men think of it. Two writers explain from a male and female perspective.
"Knowing"
pages 109-110: how the Chicago Sun Times let a monkey pick shares and why his investments have made a 37% profit.
pages 118-119: the most useful health questions. This month: Can the oxygen supply run out during a conference? How do anti dandruff shampoos work? Why do some pregnant women have bigger baby bumps than others? Can you drink too much water? All answers are verified by experts :)
pages 120-12: a report about the new wave of moon research and the new space race between Russia, China and America.
"Shopping"
pages 158-159: all the products you need for a rainy autumn's day.
"Free time"
books reviews, film reviews, music reviews, a look at the state of the German charts, an interview with ex-Moloko singer and lots more.
Once every 4 months a fashion supplement is also published alongside the main magazine. It always includes lots of photos, interviews and clothes that no one can really afford (which is my only complaint).
Created: 2007-09-19 13:09,
Tags: germany,
media,
review,
Comments: 0
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