Where Have All The Readers Gone?

Unlike many, I found out about the demise of Jane Magazine from the print edition of Advertising Age. Immediately, I went to Jane's website where nothing seemed amiss. But denial is a powerful notion…

Jane Magazine? Yes, dead she is…

While I won’t miss her all that much, I always appreciated Jane’s cattiness and fresh attitude. But, like Angela Hayes ( Mena Suvari’s character in American Beauty), I always felt like Jane was just trying too hard to be hip.

I suppose I was right since now she’s alone…and without a job—heck, even Mena’s got a job, while Jane's been reduced to selling Glamour subscriptions on her website.

As, Ms. Fashionista at http://viewfromthefourthrow.blogspot.com put it, Jane’s demise is “Fitting for this day when Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan are considered heroines and the response for young girls when asked what they want to do when they grow up is: ‘be famous.’ "
Famous for being famous. That's what it's all about. That's just pathetic....seriously what's the world coming to? (Even Jane tried to save herself by putting Paris on the cover.)

But, being a writer, I should also mention that I’m also the proud owner of my very own rejection letter from Jane Magazine. It was like I didn’t make the cheerleading squad, but alas, the varsity cheerleading captain talked to me! Rejected? Nah, I should feel privileged. (Hmm…Is that rejection slip worth more now?)

Honestly, I probably won’t miss Jane, but I will miss Premiere and I still miss Life Magazine. (That sickly, little, sad, revival supplement in the Sunday paper made me cringe.)

I have to admit I love magazines and I read lots of them, but it’s getting harder and harder for even the successful ones to compete in this digital age. Of course, I’m not the only one who’s noticed. Like the celebrity websites that take bets on the next famous person to keel over, the folks at http://www.magazinedeathpool.com keep a running tally of the magazines who’ve died and who might be next. Their commentary is humorous and inviting in an addictive way, but it’s also downright sad…

There’s nothing like flipping through a magazine or paging through a book or struggling to read the newspaper with outstretched arms. You can’t do that online. Not to mention that a magazine or book’s worth of that fluorescenty light emanating from the computer screen can’t be good for anyone’s eyes.

Fifty years from now, for those of us who are still around, we'll be blind (from all that computer reading) and iPod induced-hearing-impaired and then what will we do?

Until then, all I ask is: Please don’t take away my SELF Magazine. I’ve been a subscriber since high school, and I still look forward to every issue…even though yes, I know they sometimes repeat and I don’t always learn something new, but it’s like predictable, comfort food for my soul.