Maxim vs. Cosmo

As everyone knows Cosmo is for women wanting to be sexy and Maxim is for men to look at sexy women and cars. I got some fashion tips from Cosmo, which is always nice, and some male confessions. From Maxim I learned how to pull out my own tooth (with a pair of pliers) and how sex with your ex might be a good thing. Besides the fact that the articles are geared towards the different sexes I noticed one major difference between the two magazines, the font sizes. Cosmo's words were not too big or too small. I could keep the magazine a conformable distance from my face to read it. But when I got to Maxim, I found myself moving closer to read. I just had to read about Bear Grylls though, his show is awesome! My conclusion is that the guys at Maxim must know that their readers are just looking at the pictures.

Chapters 11,12, and 13

I always knew that when you bought brand name products you where paying for the name not the product. This is proved in chapter 11 with the example of designer jeans. We pay more than $150 for “the same inexpensive denim that has outfitted farm workers since the 1800’s”. Why is that we pay top dollar for brand names? When we can buy generic brands for a lesser price? I know that when I go grocery shopping I feel the need to buy brand names because I feel as though I am getting more for my money or that I will like how that brands bread tastes over that of the other. To be totally honest I don’t think that I can stop buying my Bath and Body Works soap- it just smells to good. And maybe thats a part of the problem.
I’ve heard the term “Public Relations” before but I had never though anything of it or what they did. I was intrigued to learn that they are the people that change your view on a product such as denim jeans and Tylenol. After reading Chapter 12, I am left wondering how often my mind had been changed by PR.
When I think of Disney, I think of the movies I grew up with- Snow white, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, etc. But today it seems like Disney owns the world. They create movies, own several theme parks, and own several TV stations. When I think of the Disney corporation I think of children’s movies, not ESPN and ABC. Whatever Disney is doing, they are doing it right.

Chapters 8 and 9

Chapter 8 starts off with this books most interesting introduction. It is about a woman named Elizabeth Cochrane, a young reporter who changed women’s role in the world of newspapers. She went undercover to expose stories on insane asylums, politicians, lobbyists and unscrupulous business practices. I think that it is so inspiring to read about women changing how things in society work. She took a part of society that was ruled by men and created a path for all women to follow. 

While reading the section Online Journalism Redefines News, I couldn’t help but think about a world without newspapers. What saddens me is that this isn’t a world that is to far way. With in a few years newspapers will be obsolete. What will this mean for the quality of the news that Americans get every day? Soon nobody is going to be reading about the stories of politics and other country, all the news is going to be about is who is having who’s baby and where she got her shoes. But then again is that so different from where the world is today? 

I found that I was able to connect with case study on page 271 really well because I am only of the many that get the free papers. Every Wednesday on my way to class I pick up a copy of the Village Voice. Although not all of the articles are very interesting some can be very entertaining. 

Chapter 9 brought me back to my childhood in the section TV Guide is Born. I can still remember when I was 7 years old and we used to buy the TV Guide. I used to flip through the magazine looking at what going to be on TV that night. Through this section I learned that the TV Guide actually had articles and didn’t just list the shows that were going to be on that night. If it wasn’t for this book and class I would have never known because when I was younger I never cared about the articles. 

After reading chapter 9, I can’t help but compare magazines and newspapers. I find it very interesting that newspapers are going to obsolete soon and I wonder when magazines will follow. I can understand that magazines are more catered to a certain demographic but when will readers just turn to their favorite webzine and throw away their old magazines? Sooner or later we will be completely dependent on computers. I can’t see that day being very far away.