At the gym the other day, I was browsing a copy of Star magazine, the one with the headline “Explosive Showdown” with an article discussing the infidelity of Jesse James. And then I started thinking, why exactly do I care about these people? What contribution do magazines like this, detailing the lives of celebrities, make for the country’s economy?
To some, tabloids are basically placed in the same category as newspapers when it comes to sales figures since they are sold in the same venues. In 2009, newspaper sales were down. But tabloid The Sun enjoyed an increase in sales during this time? Why??
I think it has a lot to do with the economic climate at that time. We were only beginning our climb out of the global recession of 2008 and people were looking to entertainment to calm their minds. I mean really, reading about someone else going to rehab or getting and ninth DUI is much more interesting than thinking about your mortgage or debt.
Recently, however, magazine sales have been down. Conde Nast Publications, the owner of magazine brands such as Vogue and Lucky, announced in October that they were closing Gourmet (a magazine that my dad definitely had a subscription to). Now that people are more optimistic about the economy and consumer confidence is up, people are spending less money on light reading material. Subscriptions are especially down.
For me, magazines are about light-hearted fun. Especially publications like Star or Vouge. These types of magazines are now experiencing sales drops, which to me, signifies a better economic outlook. I love magazines (even a tabloid now and again) but I’m glad to see people are using their time doing other things besides obsessing over Jesse James and Sandra Bullock.
-Claire McCandless
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