On
the page of Glamour’s Magazine’s
January issue that lists its editorial staff, sidebars highlighted tidbits
called “Fun facts about this issue.”
Missing from this list was one major fact: It is to be the last issue of the famed print
magazine.
Yes,
Glamour, one of the leading women’s
magazines of the past half-century, will be no more. No longer will you be able to thumb through
the colorful, glossy publication and browse ads for beauty products or skim
articles about dieting, fashion, health, or life advice.
We
still have Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Vanity
Fair, Elle, Marie Claire, and other magazines to convince women of what
they should wear, who they should date, and how they can look or feel younger,
but Glamour was a fan favorite for
millions of loyal readers not too long ago.
Changing times in women’s culture and the growth of the Internet have
made Glamour’s existence unnecessary.
At
4.99 on the newsstand, advertisers and consumers were abandoning ship. But it’s a treat to hold the magazine in your
hand, smell its scented pages, and feel like you were taking control of your
body and life as you pour through the magazine that spoke directly to 20 and
30-somethings. I guess the magazine
couldn’t retain its readership, even with subscription offers of 80% off – 1
year for just $10.
As
these magazines that used to influence American lifestyles go under, who or
what will hawk all of these beauty products, and where will these models
writers, and photographers work? What
will happen to the printers and the staff that ran an elite publication for so
many years?
As
these influencer publications die out, they get replaced by influencer
individuals, these dopey You Tube or Instagram stars who get lucky with a viral
photo or video, probably based on being born gorgeous. Now you have 19-year-olds with no formal
training, dictating culture to the masses.
Maybe
publications like Glamour and others were no better, where a gang of
self-appointed experts would dictate social norms and styles and seek to turn
every reader into a consumer. Hard
journalism it was not. But something
authoritative about these magazines allowed them to hold sway. Maybe their passing isn’t for the worst, yet
there’s something sad when a magazine closes, a newspaper folds, or a bookstore
shudders.
I do
remember when I was dating in my early 30’s, in between two marriages, that I
thought women’s minds were poisoned by a lot of women’s magazines that seemed
to fill readers with the wrong ideas about their self-image, dating, and
fashion. A Sex and the City mindset gripped a generation of women to think all
guys were expendable dirty dogs who just can’t measure up to their needs –
while asking nothing of women in what’s a two-person relationship.
Even
as women complained that Playboy and Maxim objectified women, reducing them to
silenced body parts, women’s magazines did more harm to the self-confidence of
women. How many times could they read
about dieting and beauty and seeing they don’t measure up? How many ads of unattainable bodies could
they stare at? How many fashion articles
about outfits too tight or expensive for most readers could they consume before
feeling inadequate?
Founded
80 years ago, in 1939, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood. Glamour was the first women’s magazine to
feature an African-American cover girl, putting Katiti Kironde on its August,
1968 cover. For nearly four decades it
would annoint someone as Woman of the Year. It made a contribution to society
and now it is no more – at least not in print.
It will live online from this point on.
Not
sure what to wear for that big date? In
search of a good skin cream? Need advice
on how to feel, think, or talk? Where’s
a woman to turn, now that one of the iconic magazines in our lifetime is no
longer printing copies?
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
Step out of your book marketing prison
Do authors have the right attitude to succeed at book
marketing?
While popularity of social media grows, traditional media
still leads the conversation
How to model success of authors for your own book
publicity
How to be persistent when marketing books effectively
How authors can sell more books
Celebrate National Thesaurus Day
Have You Set Your Book Marketing Goals?
The Book Marketing Strategies Of Best-Sellers
No. 1 Book Publicity Resource: 2019 Toolkit For Authors
-- FREE
Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and
interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of
his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter
@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more
important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in
Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and
IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the
top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best
resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.