Do your favorite magazines define you primarily as a consumer or as a citizen?
Do you think magazines have a responsibility to educate their readers as both? What can they do to promote responsible citizenship?
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I would say my magazine choices would define me more as a consumer as compared to a citizen. For me, I would think being defined as a citizen would mean you are informed about issues going on in the US and the world. You’re reading things that are relevant and pertinent to today’s world and you’re well rounded on those issues. The magazines I typically read don’t really delve any deeper than what Jennifer Aniston ate for lunch. I can’t say I’m all that informed about issues in the news.
ReplyDeleteI think it’d be great if magazines did both; were able to entertain and yet inform the public about important issues, but I don’t necessarily think it’s their responsibility to do that. Magazines are about niche markets and if they all started covering the same topics in every magazine, people wouldn’t read them anymore. We pick up Sports Illustrated to get sports news, we’re not picking it up because we want to read about the upcoming elections. We could go elsewhere for that news but we’re choosing Sports Illustrated because we know it will be consistent and give us what we’re asking for.
I’m not sure what magazines could do to promote responsible citizenship. Like I said before, I don’t really know if it’s the magazine industries job to do that. I think the issue is in the hands of a lot of other media outlets as well like television, newspapers, online etc. to help promote that we need to be more responsible citizens.
I would agree. Magazine are created for niche markets and so while there are magazines out there that maybe around for the purpose of creating a better citizen(i.e. TIME), not all magazines are going to do that. And that's certainly not their responsibility, because not all of one form of entertainment ever does that-even the highly regarded book or novel (i.e. A Clockwork Orange).
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ReplyDeleteI think my magazine define me as a consumer and part of that reason is that I personally don't look to magazines for my serious news or world updates. My magazine are about things that I love to do (music and video games). When I want news or current issues based information, I'll read things online like a CNN or even a yahoo/news article.
I think magazines carve out specific markets that they cater to, which is not bad, but it just means that the majority of magazines aren't going to have a bunch of current event news in it.
Is it up to magazines to make us better citizens-no. Could they maybe do a better job at not making us worse citizens than we already are-I think every form of entertainment can!
My favorite magazines are Cosmopolitan, Glamour and any other beauty based magazine. I'm a girly girl and so the things they post in those magazines about ways to look beautiful, fashion, modeling, make-up tips, dealing with relationships are all things that make me a consumer of those magazines. On a more serious side, I like magazines about business such as Business Weekly, BizTimes. Since I am an international business major, I find it practice for me to read and educate myself on the findings in those magazines. Both types of magazines definitely defines me as a consumer, not so much as a citizen because I read things based on my "likings" not because I feel the could reflect any type of civic duty/citizenship. YUCK!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteAs far as magazines that are fact based or expose the economy...like my business magazines, then I definitely think they should educate readers. Business is a universal topic and so knowing how the economy is and the problems it potentially faces is crucial to any citizen's understanding. A topic like the bank bailouts is something that should appeal in interest to readers, so magazines need to educate them on that. To promote responsible citizenship, they should continue to include articles that could potentially affect the economy. There are many magazines that educate besides business magazines. For example, car magazines, health magazines, parenting magazines, economists magazines and so on...all of these have its own fan base and so they just need to continue with informative articles.
I feel that magazines for me are primarily a source of entertainment. I subscribe to Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, and Men's Health. I do however read occasionally Time and Newsweek. I feel that the magazines I read primarily target me as a consumer rather than as a citizen. However they acknowledge me as a citizen in a capitalists society where being a consumer is key to the economy. I feel that in the subscriptions I have I am informed as to the issues that I am interested yet at the same time the world of sports and music and health involve buying many things. I buy into watching sports and health products and am advised in what music to purchase or listen to.
ReplyDeleteI do not feel that being targeted as a consumer in magazines is a bad thing unless the advice or products being advertised or discussed make me a bad citizen. I feel that if I am being pushed by a magazine to buy certain products that may better me as a citizen then it is ok. That is where the responsibility rests for magazines. I feel that they should promote being a positive contributor to society, and if that involves being a consumer than so be it.
The magazines like Time or Newsweek are important in that they offer or facilitate the opportunity to stay informed on relevant issues in society. These magazines offer the balance needed in the magazine market between consumer focused and citizen focused publications. Overall I think that magazines today are capable of and are currently accomplishing both goals of promoting consumers and citizens simultaneously.
I agree with Alicia that we all choose the magazines we read for different reasons. I feel that if I am looking to support my civic duties or opinions then I will find a magazine with relevant articles. Also if I am looking to support my fantasy football decisions there are magazines to aid me in that as well. That is the beauty of having differentiation among magazines. So I guess I feel that if a magazines goal is to promote and advise consumers then they should stick with that and if a magazine is focused on its readers as citizens then they should be responsible in producing useful information on that front. Not all magazines need to do both though.
ReplyDeleteI would say they define me as a citizen. I read Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, and National Geographic. These are magazines that keep me informed of things that I am interested in. I don't generally read the as Lisa says "what Jennifer Aniston ate for lunch magazines" unless I'm standing in line at the grocery store.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they have to do both. Certain magazines are for different people. That's why we have so many. Some people read magazines to get away from the daily life. My brother reads People because he says for about an hour a week he can be a mindless consumer because it takes him away from every day life of work and family.
I don't feel it's a magazines responsibility to promote responsible citizenship. Magazines are generally used for entertainment. If you want responsible citizenship tell people to watch the news, read the newspaper, keep up on current events that are relevant.
Considering the fact that I don’t read magazines a lot, I don’t necessarily have a favorite magazine that I read. However, the magazines I do choose to pick up and read, I think it defines me as a consumer not as a citizen. Those particular magazines don’t define who I am; it is just a little something about me that caught my attention. If the magazines I do read defined me as a citizen then it puts me into the category of what Mark Bauerlein talks about in his book about us being the Dumbest Generation.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure if magazines have a responsibility to educate readers as both! It’s tough to say but it is their right to ‘educate’ their readers on whatever they want. Every magazine has particular followers of that magazine for a reason and if one day they started to publish things within the magazine that comes out of left field, they could possibly lose readers.
As far as what can they do to promote responsible citizenship-- they have political magazines and other informative magazines already for that. I don’t think magazines such as Glamour, Teen Magazine, and others like it have to promote responsible citizenship. It would throw off their look. I think it wouldn’t necessarily be a made thing for companies to implement informational articles about what’s going on in the world today, but today it’s all about making money. Therefore, they are not worried about promoting responsible citizenship. They will publish whatever it takes to sell.
If magazines make you a good consumer, why wouldn't they then make you a good citizen? Are good citizens good consumers?
ReplyDeleteI think that would all depend on how we're defining the term "good citizen". I think for all of us that means something a little different so it's hard to say we're all good or all bad citizens or consumers because our definitions are all different. For myself I would say that just because I'm a good consumer would not make me a good citizen because the things I consume aren't keeping me informed on our country and the future. I would say the only way me consuming makes me a good citizen is that I pay the sales tax.
ReplyDeleteTo reflect I basically agree with everything everyone said. Being a good citizen isn't based on what we read or how we get our information. You could be the most informed individual but be a horrible person whereas you could be uninformed and be a great citizen. Just because you're an informed person doesn't make you a better citizen.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading everyone's reflections, majority of us feel that magazines define us as a consumer not as a citizen. However, Scott feels the magazines he reads defines him as a citizen. I found that to be very interesting. He says it defines who he is but I don't think that defines him as a whole. However, I agree with what Scott said about how magazines are primarily used for entertainment which means they don't have a responsibility to promote citizenship! I feel there are more important and more effective ways to do so.
ReplyDeletep.s. sorry it's late! :)