A writer was recently surprised to find that a piece she’d written about apple pies for a website in 2005 had been picked up wholesale by a small cooking magazine without anyone telling her. She was even more surprised by the reaction she received from one of the mag’s editors. [More]
magazines
Magazine Copies Entire Story From Web, Tells Writer She Should Pay Them For Publishing It
By 11.4.10
Which Tabloids Give You The Most Lies For Your Buck?
By 9.28.10
Whether you like it or not, the five major glossy tabloids — Us Weekly, InTouch, Life & Style, Star and OK! — are still among the highest-selling periodicals, in spite of the fact that many readers know much of what’s printed between those magazines’ covers is stretching the truth, if not outright fiction. But the next time you’re stuck at the airport newsstand and you can’t decide which “Baby Time For Jen Aniston” cover to buy, there is now some guidance. [More]
Paste Is God's Magazine Now
By 9.2.10
When my dog, Goose, died last year, my then-2-year-old son rationalized “Goose is God’s dog now.” It seemed as positive a rationalization as possible to put on an untimely passing. So now I have to believe that, when headed to the crapper, God must be taking a rolled-up copy the beloved-but-obviously-not-beloved-enough-to-be-kept-alive Paste magazine with him. That’s presuming Paste went to periodical heaven and not where George magazine ended up. [More]
Summer's Eve To Ladies: If You Want A Raise, You'd Better Wash Your Hoo Hoo
By 8.30.10
Maybe you thought bizarre “fix your naughty bits!” ads for feminine hygiene only appeared back in your grandparents’ era, but no. This Summer’s Eve ad from Women’s Day magazine says that if you want a raise, one of the first things you can do is shower with “Summer’s Eve Feminine Wash,” although it might also be a good idea to bring some “cleansing cloths” with you “for a quick freshness pick-me-up” right before you ask the boss for more money. That’s all in tip #1; tip #7 says “Don’t let the conversation stray or get personal.” [More]
Dead Magazine Coming Back As Zombie iPad App
By 6.23.10
Conde Nast announced plans to bring back the shuttered Gourmet Magazine as a free iPad app that gets users to pay for free stuff along the way with virtual currency, Farmville style. [More]
Watch Out For Stealth Magazine Subscriptions At Motherhood Maternity
By 6.18.10
Derek tells Consumerist that expectant readers should be careful when shopping at Motherhood Maternity stores. His wife ended up with a stealth subscription to Parenting magazine that she claims she never asked for or approved. [More]
Why Should I Subscribe To Your Magazine If It's Free With Fewer Ads Online?
By 4.15.10
Here is the question that plagues the magazine industry at the moment. Reader Danielle likes Real Simple magazine and is a subscriber. However, there are so many ads in it that it’s ruining the experience for her. To make matters worse, the entire magazine is on their website… with fewer ads. So why should she subscribe? [More]
Print Edition Of TV Guide Tells Me To Go Online To Read Most Of Cover Story
By 3.30.10
Scott bought a copy of TV Guide — yes, apparently that still exists — because he was intrigued by the TV’s Top 50 Families story. He was dismayed to page through the magazine and discover the list stopped at 20. The article prompted him to go online to discover the remaining 30 families on the list. [More]
Magazines Admit: We Have No #*&%ing Clue What To Do With iPad
By 3.1.10
While many media outlets were heralding today’s news that magazine giant Condé Nast plans to bring five of its biggest selling titles to Apple’s new iPad tablet thingy, if you actually read what the Condé memo says, it becomes apparent that they really have no idea what they’re dealing with. [More]
Hey Companies, Little Kids Are Not An Acceptable Sales Force
By 2.23.10
Dale writes to us that his two kids came home tasked with a lame magazine subscription assignment on behalf of a classroom magazine called Weekly Reader. It’s a little sleazy to use kids to pry cash out of the pockets of relatives and friends, and I hold that opinion as both a kid who has had to do it and an adult who has received the manipulative “please help my school!” plea in the mail. [More]
Demi Moore's Hipflesh Reappears, Is Angry At The Internet
By 12.29.09
Here’s how you solve all of your PR problems. Send threatening legal letters to the internet. It always works. [More]
Men's Health Plagiarizes Their Own Cover (On Purpose)
By 12.11.09
Men’s Health was recently busted for reusing an old cover almost word for word. Now Men’s Health Editor-in- Chief David Zinczenko is telling the NY Post that it wasn’t a mistake, it’s part of a secret awesome branding strategy. [More]
Fashion Photographer Offers $5,000 Reward For Demi Moore's Hip
By 11.22.09
Demi Moore and W cover photographer Anthony Citrano disagree about whether the infamous picture of Moore was modified to Photoshop out a chunk of her hip. They took their argument to the court of public opinion: Twitter.
Somewhere, Out There, A Piece Of Demi Moore's Hip Is Looking For Its Home
By 11.18.09
Since you all were so fond of the photoshop horror that was that one Ralph Lauren ad, we bring you the latest tragedy from BoingBoing. Demi Moore is on the cover of W this month. Well, most of her is.
Time Names 50 Best Inventions Of '09
By 11.13.09
Time Magazine selected the 50 best inventions of 2009. Topping the list are NASA’s Ares rockets, which take us one step closer to a Jetsons-like world of planet-hopping joy:
Chris Walters On BBC Tomorrow
By 9.16.09
Consumerist’s Chris Walters is slated to be a live guest on the BBC’s “World News Today” tomorrow morning at 7:30 am Eastern, shown on the BBC America and BBC World News cable channels. He’ll be talking about those talking ads in the Sept 18 issue of Entertainment Weekly which combine singing greeting card technology with tiny LCD screens. Set your DVRs, and bust out the tea and crumpets.
See The Fortune 500 Magazine Cover That Was Too Brutally Honest To Run
Fortune magazine commissioned artist Chris Ware to design a cover for their 2010 Fortune 500 issue, so he did. Unfortunately, what he delivered was a detailed, funny, and biting commentary on the current state of our economy–with banker types dancing on the top of mega-buildings that spell out “500,” a factory in Mexico churning out big box merchandise, and a “401k cemetary.” Fortune rejected it, but hasn’t provided any comment on why. Well, okay, it’s probably self-evident why they killed it, but it’s still funny. [More]