Reader's Choice: Magazines

This is my 3^rd blog post for Intro to Mass Communications.

Magazines have been a very popular means of media. In a strange way, they have paved the way for celebrity gossip TV shows, blogs, even Facebook and Twitter. I’m not an avid fan of magazines, but there have been a few that have stuck out to me. However, those magazines showed up in my life at different times.

First off are the Highlights/Weekly Reader magazines. Back in elementary school, we would get those magazines for free, and I was stoked about getting to read them and mess with the coloring and drawing activities within the magazine. I liked how the magazine would takes current events, even devastating ones like the 9/11 attack, and distribute the news in way that kids could understand and not be scared for their lives. I’m not sure if the school still does that; I know that my 8-year-old sister Makenna would really enjoy that. However, those magazines were some of the things that helped me strive for knowledge and excellence.

One day, I’m sitting at the dentist’s office waiting for my checkup appointment. There are a bunch of dumb magazines, but I pick one off the table and read it to kill time.  I really enjoyed reading Sports Illustrated at that point. It discusses none other than…wait for it…SPORTS! How surprising! It’s like if Sports was a magazine and took steroids. It’s very insightful on what all’s going on in professional sports, from football to baseball to even bowling and billiards. It found great success as a weekly magazine, but now it also gives instant updates online. I don’t read the Swimsuit Editions; I’m not a pig!

Online magazines have become more popular as of late, and I’ve recently stumbled across one. It’s called Hopecore Magazine. It gives information on Christian Rock, Hardcore, and Metal bands in the media today. Most of the articles give info on new albums and how God is working in the lives of the band members. A large portion of the bands mentioned aren’t popular in the mainstream, but there are some articles on popular Christian mainstream bands such as Switchfoot and Owl City. The online magazine isn’t as popular as Sports Illustrated, of course, but it’s very insightful of music and bands that I like, and I enjoy reading it when I can.

Magazine:   still kicking after all these years!!!