First there's Vogue weighing in with 902 pages total and 663 ad pages; next comes Elle with 652 pages total and 442 ad pages. Heavy, indeed.
Not bad for those who say PRINT IS DEAD!
However, of greater interest to me are the two fall fashion magazines of our two most prominent newspapers: WSJ. The Wall Street Journal Magazine and the New York Times Style Magazine.
Cover of the Wall Street Journal Magazine
September 2013, Women's Style
Both magazines are a pleasure to peruse and read. (If you don't have copies. get them from your local library.) They are also available online.
The ads are beautifully designed and do effortlessly and seamlessly --with a little bit of help-- lead us gracefully to intriguing articles.
Isn't that what top of the line magazine journalism is supposed to do--to draw us into the mostly textual sections that can and should matter to us, perhaps, even make a difference in our lives?
Put another way, the sensuality of the models and products featured in the ads are designed to quicken our senses- male and female- then goad us to open up our wallets and buy!
Isn't that our expectation?
Then, hopefully, we should be in a frame of mind to expect and then, indeed, discover the quality of journalism that is the mark of these two papers.
The Times is 252 total pages and WSJ. is 160 pages. (Size is not the issue--it's layout, it's content. Agreed?)
Each has museum quality ads from Ralph Lauren, Armani and Chanel vying for the front and back cover ads -- as usual. After all, this publication is a showcase for their wares and they will renew their ads only if pleased with placement and quality of layout and content of articles.
With some 75 plus full page ads dominating the WSJ. publication, what room is there left for content?
Sounds like a tug of war of sorts: ads fund the publication and hence must be prominent -- but should this bottom line consideration be at the 'expense' of articles?
The Editor's Letter offers a clue as to what to expect in each. So, kudos to both editors Kristina O'Neill of WSJ. and to Deborah Needleman of the Times.
Kristina O'Neill, Editor in Chief of WSJ. She
replaced Deborah Needleman who moved over to T Magazine
(Photo courtesy of Fashionlogie.com)
In her Editor's Letter entitled Hidden Treasures, the globe-trotting Kristina first flies southward to South America where she heaps praises on Inhotim "an extraordinary installation of contemporary art in southeastern Brazil." She then directs our 'sails' to a Parisian superstar designer, the "effortlessly chic" Isabel Marant.
Her itinerary then has us fly across the Channel to London where "we spend time with founders of Saturday Group, fashion consultants who wear a dazzling array of creative hats."
Other venues include Sir Richard Branson's private game reserve Ulusaba in South Africa -- to 'meet' daughter Holly and her brother and a meeting with Guido Palau "the legendary hair stylist whose creativity is behind some of fashion's most iconic moments."
Collage of Venice from Wikipedia: at the top left is
the Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city,
the the Grand Canal and (smaller) the interior
of La Fenice and lastly the island of San Giorgio Maggiore
The destination that impressed me the most is the Venice Biennale.
Why the Biennale?
It has lots and lots of outdoor public art especially in the Giardini and I am a great fan of public art!
My keen interest in public art and magazine media is depicted and exemplified by many blogs (ranging from the Rodin exhibit at the sculpture garden of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, Stamford's Downtown Outdoor Art in Public Places exhibits, to Kandinsky and Picasso at the Guggenheim and Kandinsky: His Paris Years 1906-1907 and as editor and publisher of Brooklyn's Community Magazine ).
Cover of Mort Walker's The Best of Times
featuring original artwork by Mort
I also served as advertising director at Mort Walker's Best of Times Magazine. (Mort just turned 90 and is as spright and alert as a man 30 years his junior).
I am fascinated by Venice -- a city I visited as a teenager -- where every two years "the city is transformed into a grand exhibition of contemporary artwork from around the globe." It is as Mera Rubell said "so incredible because the contemporary art interacts with the historical context..."
The online slide show is a pleasure to scroll through as we encounter the portraits of the artists and curators and gallerists and collectors. The outstanding photography is by Daniel Jackson.
The article inspires me to visit Venice for the next Biennale. Any joiners out there?
Thank you WSJ. and staff and I look forward to your Men's Style issue just posted online.
Look for my hopefully shorter blog on T, The New York Times August/Fall Fashion Ladies Style Magazine. (Click here)
The August 25, 2013 cover of the Women's Fashion Issue
from the New York Times Style Magazine
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