Thanks for sharing this Jane. It's great to let consumers know how much influence insignificant things have on magazine articles. Such as the influence of advertisers having priority over features. It really is so hard to know what to trust when you're reading a mag nowadays. Long live blogs!
Disappointing. Although I would like to point out that not all print media works like that. A lot of the accusations levelled at mags just don't apply to newspapers in the same way. Am not gunning for a 'Blogging v Traditional Media - better or worse or just different?' type debate, but just think it's worth flagging up that things aren't always black and white...(weak pun intended)
I've seen some right shite products in print trying to convince readers they are fantastic. When you go online they have a 99% slated by bloggers rate. I don't trust print beauty editors for the most part anymore. xxx
sounds like an absolute load of bullshit buck-passing to me.
1. the art department does not get final say in editorial decisions
2. sure, when you're in house and working with designers you get better at knowing what shots will work better on the page so you do tend to pick according to that and you know what will make a good-looking page - but here's the thing, it's the art department's JOB to make sure the page looks good with what's supplied and if they can't do that, then they're not very good at it. There are plenty of ways they could have made it look better - like sourcing a great holder shot, for one. 3. This is quite the rudest thing I've read for some time especially as they canvassed you to write the piece fee-free.
SO very true- I used to live by magazines, now it's blogs! I think there may be snobbery at magazines about blogging because it is an increasing threat.
That's why I love reading blogs. It's not about the brand or packaging, it's about what's inside! It's a fact that a name or a pretty package won't make you look good! Sad to hear that magazines are not thinking that way...
Having just started work as a writer for a magazine a few months ago, it's hard not to let this attitude get you down...a week ago I was told by a man in our department that he wanted to me do a feature where I'd bring a reader down to a culinary school for the day, and write about the experience. So I have to find a reader to bring, 'who obviously has to be completely beautiful'.
So yeah, essentially, it comes down to the colour of the boxes :P
That's interesting and very dissapointing. I mostly read magazines as a form of entertainment. If I want to find out about new products and recommendations, I head straight to Bloglovin. http://missladyglamour.blogspot.co.uk/
Hahahahaha such a pathetic excuse from them! As a graphic designer myself, I am VERY often supplied with content for whatever I am working on at the time where the pictures may appear bland in colour or are low quality or they might not be any to use. It is my job to make their job look good and be professional about it. There are so many stock image sources available - yes you do have to pay for them most of the time but you can recoup the cost. A magazine will probably have a subscription to an image library so if the products were not colourful enough for the page then they should have worked something out creatively. It is not hard... seriously! I can't blame you for not trusting them any more, I wouldn't supply anything else to them from now on if I were you in case they repeat this kind of stunt.
Seriously? That is crazy. It's so dissapointing to know that the magazines i've admired just have so many sneaky backend rules/ideas. Some of the things i've heard during internships have been shocking. I'm struggling to figure out where I want to be (career wise) in love because of this but at least there's my blogging on the side.
Also, it always interigues me how editors slate bloggers for not being "worthy" of recieving products to rate (the genuine ones I mean) When the majority of the time they mention how great a product is and how we should all buy it because of x, y and z, when they haven't nor ever would try it. All because of who is advertising with them. That's why I appreciate bloggers like yourself especially. If I want to know the truth about a product i'll go online. The amount of products i've bought because i've seen your review on your site is crazy.
What a joke. I hope you expressed to the magazine how disappointed you were to rush around (FOR FREE) to write this story only to get a flimsy excuse for it not running. Maybe you can post the article here or sell it to another magazine?
Things like this are exactly why I've decided to just blog as a hobby... trying to make money from it is like pulling teeth sometimes!
17 comments:
Oh, what a shame! Ironically your blog is so bright and colourful at the moment!! :) x
Thanks for sharing this Jane. It's great to let consumers know how much influence insignificant things have on magazine articles. Such as the influence of advertisers having priority over features. It really is so hard to know what to trust when you're reading a mag nowadays. Long live blogs!
Disappointing. Although I would like to point out that not all print media works like that. A lot of the accusations levelled at mags just don't apply to newspapers in the same way. Am not gunning for a 'Blogging v Traditional Media - better or worse or just different?' type debate, but just think it's worth flagging up that things aren't always black and white...(weak pun intended)
I've seen some right shite products in print trying to convince readers they are fantastic. When you go online they have a 99% slated by bloggers rate. I don't trust print beauty editors for the most part anymore. xxx
sounds like an absolute load of bullshit buck-passing to me.
1. the art department does not get final say in editorial decisions
2. sure, when you're in house and working with designers you get better at knowing what shots will work better on the page so you do tend to pick according to that and you know what will make a good-looking page - but here's the thing, it's the art department's JOB to make sure the page looks good with what's supplied and if they can't do that, then they're not very good at it. There are plenty of ways they could have made it look better - like sourcing a great holder shot, for one.
3. This is quite the rudest thing I've read for some time especially as they canvassed you to write the piece fee-free.
When they said "colour" they probably meant not enough brands you mentioned were advertisers - I love blogs too and in particular your one :) xx
SO very true- I used to live by magazines, now it's blogs! I think there may be snobbery at magazines about blogging because it is an increasing threat.
I'm assuming by "not enough colour" they meant not enough of the brands mentioned were advertisers... blogging all the way :)
That's why I love reading blogs. It's not about the brand or packaging, it's about what's inside!
It's a fact that a name or a pretty package won't make you look good!
Sad to hear that magazines are not thinking that way...
Having just started work as a writer for a magazine a few months ago, it's hard not to let this attitude get you down...a week ago I was told by a man in our department that he wanted to me do a feature where I'd bring a reader down to a culinary school for the day, and write about the experience. So I have to find a reader to bring, 'who obviously has to be completely beautiful'.
So yeah, essentially, it comes down to the colour of the boxes :P
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http://lipstickedlouise.blogspot.com/
That's interesting and very dissapointing. I mostly read magazines as a form of entertainment. If I want to find out about new products and recommendations, I head straight to Bloglovin.
http://missladyglamour.blogspot.co.uk/
Hahahahaha such a pathetic excuse from them! As a graphic designer myself, I am VERY often supplied with content for whatever I am working on at the time where the pictures may appear bland in colour or are low quality or they might not be any to use. It is my job to make their job look good and be professional about it. There are so many stock image sources available - yes you do have to pay for them most of the time but you can recoup the cost. A magazine will probably have a subscription to an image library so if the products were not colourful enough for the page then they should have worked something out creatively. It is not hard... seriously! I can't blame you for not trusting them any more, I wouldn't supply anything else to them from now on if I were you in case they repeat this kind of stunt.
Seriously? That is crazy. It's so dissapointing to know that the magazines i've admired just have so many sneaky backend rules/ideas. Some of the things i've heard during internships have been shocking. I'm struggling to figure out where I want to be (career wise) in love because of this but at least there's my blogging on the side.
Also, it always interigues me how editors slate bloggers for not being "worthy" of recieving products to rate (the genuine ones I mean) When the majority of the time they mention how great a product is and how we should all buy it because of x, y and z, when they haven't nor ever would try it. All because of who is advertising with them. That's why I appreciate bloggers like yourself especially. If I want to know the truth about a product i'll go online. The amount of products i've bought because i've seen your review on your site is crazy.
What a joke. I hope you expressed to the magazine how disappointed you were to rush around (FOR FREE) to write this story only to get a flimsy excuse for it not running. Maybe you can post the article here or sell it to another magazine?
Things like this are exactly why I've decided to just blog as a hobby... trying to make money from it is like pulling teeth sometimes!
How ridiculously rude of them for wasting your time!
Fire the art department, a bad workman always blames his tools.
So will you post the article here so we can see what their readers will be missing.
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