New Mag Raises the Bar
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 by Chris BullSo somebody thought it was a good time to launch a new magazine, aimed primarily at men. We all know the lads mag sector is dying a slow death, so there is little hope here right? Well perhaps not. Partly because, despite being quite man-centric, this is certainly no lads mag.
Avid readers of PRMB may recall a recent post about another mag-for-men; Buck, which got a pretty bad write-up. It has apparently now been reduced to a bi-annual publication, oh dear. Well this month, WIRED has come along, and shown the boys at Buck how to write a top-draw magazine, that I guarantee you will be able to buy a copy of next month. Ok, WIRED has had 15 years of publication in the States, so you would expect those behind it to know what they are doing by now. Nonetheless it is incredibly refreshing to read a magazine that is genuinely innovative, both in presentation and content.
WIRED announces its intentions on the – beautifully tactile, cotton-papered – front cover as IDEAS / TECHNOLOGY / CULTURE / BUSINESS. Certainly an interesting and rather broad remit. Too ambitious perhaps? Not a chance. WIRED is superbly written throughout, treading a fine line where it manages to sound authoritative, without being condescending. It simply oozes quality, yet there aren’t 40 pages of adverts before you get to the index…which is nice.
The photography throughout is stunning and beautifully shot. It does a wonderful job of transforming the mundane into something resembling art. You may imagine, for example, that an image-led piece on the world’s most powerful computers may be dull beyond comprehension, but the visual splendour of this feature is utterly captivating.
There is plenty of value in here too for anyone who likes to keep under the skin of the latest media developments. There is a great mini-interview with the CEO of Twitter, and it doesn’t beat about the bush. First question is ‘How will you make money from Twitter?’
Similarly I hugely enjoyed an article on the development history of the massively popular BBC iPlayer, which was brilliantly insightful and sharply written. But really, everything about this mag is just clever. For example, instead of a video game review, and a celebrity interview, why not get a celeb reviewing a game? There is innovation in the formulaic. A coffee machine review is backed up by stats on cost per-cup, how much it will cost in your first year, how much you will save over a year compared to buying Starbucks etc. It has taken man’s desire to quantify everything, and done it for us.
I realise I am on the verge of sounding sycophantic about this magazine, but it really is quality through and through and is deserved praise for a job well done and a mag well produced.
