Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Us & Them
Call me crazy, but I feel like Us Weekly is getting a little bit insecure. It used to be America's go-to place for weight loss tips from fat celebrities and unfunny quips about whatever Cher was wearing, but now it's got a lot of competition. The In Touch Weeklies and Life & Styles of the world are driving up the bidding for snapshots of the Olsens being "just like us" and Jennifer Aniston living a life of quiet desperation, and they're charging a dollar less at the checkout counter. Bored housewives now have more choices than ever about what magazine to impulse buy along with a pack of Chiclets at the Super Wal Mart, and the strain is starting to show.
For evidence, one need look no farther than the January 4, 2010 issue (like most magazines, Us Weekly is always published in the future), where the editors take a break from breathlessly telling us about "Elin's Revenge" to spend two pages badmouthing their competitors for making up "fake news" (because yes, the latest on Brangelina definitely qualifies as "news"). Reproducing the covers from no fewer than a dozen issues of OK!, In Touch, Star, and the like, People matches each with a quote from an enraged publicist denying the substance of the stories. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are NOT getting married, OK! magazine. How dare you even suggest such a thing?!?!
On the plus side, they still have room for hard hitting stories like Rachel McAdams sporting a new braided hairdo and Nicole Kidman's makeup looking weird at the Nine premiere. As long as celebrities are leaving their homes, there will never be rest for these intrepid journalists, I fear.
Call me crazy, but I feel like Us Weekly is getting a little bit insecure. It used to be America's go-to place for weight loss tips from fat celebrities and unfunny quips about whatever Cher was wearing, but now it's got a lot of competition. The In Touch Weeklies and Life & Styles of the world are driving up the bidding for snapshots of the Olsens being "just like us" and Jennifer Aniston living a life of quiet desperation, and they're charging a dollar less at the checkout counter. Bored housewives now have more choices than ever about what magazine to impulse buy along with a pack of Chiclets at the Super Wal Mart, and the strain is starting to show.
For evidence, one need look no farther than the January 4, 2010 issue (like most magazines, Us Weekly is always published in the future), where the editors take a break from breathlessly telling us about "Elin's Revenge" to spend two pages badmouthing their competitors for making up "fake news" (because yes, the latest on Brangelina definitely qualifies as "news"). Reproducing the covers from no fewer than a dozen issues of OK!, In Touch, Star, and the like, People matches each with a quote from an enraged publicist denying the substance of the stories. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are NOT getting married, OK! magazine. How dare you even suggest such a thing?!?!
On the plus side, they still have room for hard hitting stories like Rachel McAdams sporting a new braided hairdo and Nicole Kidman's makeup looking weird at the Nine premiere. As long as celebrities are leaving their homes, there will never be rest for these intrepid journalists, I fear.
