US Weekly

INFORMATION:

Name: US Weekly
Example of Magazine Cover: See above.
Publisher: The Walt Disney Company and Wenner Media
Type of Magazine: US Weekly is a consumer magazine that focuses on entertainment.
Subscription: No.


Q&A:

I got the magazine from a news stand at Wal-Mart. This is a consumer magazine because it is released about 52 times a year, hence the name “US Weekly”. It has more than 3,000 general readers and it contains much more than 16 pages of editorial content. It is an entertainment magazine because the majority of the articles are targeted toward human curiosity and desire for gossip. Readers get to see the most famous celebrities at 3 in the morning on drunken nights and also baby pictures of the cutest celebrity toddlers. In the “Just like Us” section, stars are photographed doing things that us regular people do, such as grocery shop with our families and walk the dog. In the “Fashion Police” section, editors choose which stars had the current “look of the week” and also choose which stars are “good people with bad clothes”. Girls who are my age, along with girls in their 20’s, are definitely the targets for this magazine. The advertisements range mostly from perfumes, types of makeup, hair products, healthy foods, television shows directed at women, and personal hygiene products. The articles in the magazine, aside from the cover stories, are usually articles about eating healthy, looking your best and choosing the right make-up, what shoes and purses are “in” currently, outfits for every body shape, and the newest, most fabulous hairstyles. On the particular US Weekly that I am in the middle of reading, the main cover story is titled “Mommy’s Crying”. This story is about none other than Britney Spears and her two sons, Sean and Jaden, who are trying to deal with her constant roller coaster of emotions and lapses into the dangerous world of drugs and alcohol. This sounded like an interesting story to read, possibly because I believe that Britney is not fit to be a mother in her current state, and I bought this magazine partially to read this article. I also bought this magazine because I have read US Weekly before and I always know that even if the cover story is less than what I expected, there is at least one other article in the magazine that I will definitely read more than once. I would recommend this magazine to anyone who enjoys a good laugh at celebrities looking like fools and also enjoys a smile here and there when you see a happy celebrity couple making it through the evils that tabloids can bring to their lives.


Word Count: 445

ABC Tries To Keep Up With The Competition With Network Distribution

Disney-owned ABC is marching forward with its revised online video strategy and will soon attempt to distribute its primetime shows on AOL with no extra charge. The effort to push forward quickly is partially due to competition from rival CBS, which created its own online distribution network this past spring, and also from NBC Universal, who has claimed that they will start testing a desktop video download service next month. The ABC/AOL agreement includes the following:
1. sharing of ad revenues
2. in order to protect ABC affiliates who could possibly lose broadcast viewers to the Internet, the network will be geo-targeting ads, along with three national ads for each hour of programming
3. ABC's shows will be available to the public on AOL on the day that follows the initial broadcast; four episodes of each show will be available to watch at any time
This ravenous effort on ABC's part has reminded me how competitive the "powerhouses" like NBC Universal and Walt Disney really are with each other. If one of them has a technological breakthrough, the other one better not be too far behind in order to retain their whole audience.

An American Classic

Information:

Title: The Outsiders
Author: S.E. Hinton
Publisher: Penguin Books
Parent Company: Pearson




Summary of Content:

This novel tells the story of 14-year old Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles growing up in a society where he feels like an "outsider". Ponyboy and his older brothers, Darry and Sodapop, have recently lost their parents in a car accident and live on their own. These three boys, along with friends Johnny and Dallas, belong to a group called the "Greasers", who are from the poor side of town. The "Socs", short for socials and their rival group, live on the rich side of town. A fight between these two groups can break out at any time without any provoking from either side. One terrible night during a fight that gets way out of control, Jonny kills a Soc in order to protect Ponyboy. Ponyboy doesn't tell his brothers about the murder, and Johnny seeks help from Dally in order to avoid being arrested. Dally gives them $50 and tells them to leave town until he goes to find them. They hide out in an abandoned church, color and cut their hair to disguise themselves, and pass the time by playing cards and reading. Dally shows up after a week, takes them to a local Dairy Queen to buy them food, and has good news: he has lead the authorities to believe that Johnny and Ponyboy are on their way to Texas and a "Soc" girl is going to testify that Johnny killed her friend in self-defense. Johnny wishes to turn himself in, and they go back to the church to retrieve their belongings, discovering that the church is on fire. A school group is there, and little children are trapped inside. Ponyboy and Johnny immediately race inside and rescue the kids. As they are attempting to run out of the burning building, the roof collapses. Ponyboy barely escapes, and a piece of timber falls on Johnny, badly burning him and breaking his back. The boys are now viewed as heroes, and they are raced back to the hospital in an ambulance. Johnny dies, and Dally becomes extremely grief-stricken and robs a grocery store. He flees to a vacant lot where the rest of the gang is waiting, and the police chase him there. He pulls a "black object" from his pocket, and the police believe it is a gun and shoot him. Ponyboy misses both of his friends dearly, and writes a book in order to remember them.

Type of Book: The Outsiders is an example of a trade book.

Type of Reader: I would consider myself a casual reader. I probably read about 3 or 4 books a year, and they are usually books I have already read.


Questions & Answers-

I read this book in English class during 8th grade, and I still remember it very vividly. I also have seen the movie a few times, and I enjoy both. This book impacted me because it shows you how the worst moments can bring out the strongest qualities in people, whether the qualities are good or bad. I also really loved the fact that no matter what kinds of horrible things happened to the gang of "Outsiders", they stuck together through thick and thin. Even after Johnny and Dally are killed, Ponyboy vows to "make their deaths mean something". This story definitely has deeper meanings. The theme of innocence is symbolized in the Robert Frost poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay," which Ponyboy reads to Johnny at the church. As Johnny dies, he tells Ponyboy to "stay gold," meaning hold onto his innocence despite the cruel conditions of the world in which they live. Another theme in the story is shown when the Socs and Greasers come together after the three murders and decide they will be tolerant of each other and not continue to fight based solely on class differences. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story that tugs at the heartstrings. I have never read any other books from this particular author, but I would highly recommend this author simply because "The Outsiders" is that great of a book.

Word Count: 697..man I'm good!

The Media in Canada

I interviewed my friend Jobie Waughman and he is from British Columbia, Canada. He told me that in Canada, the news is worldier and has to do with global issues, whereas American news is mainly about American issues. He also said that actual Canadian films are very hard to find, but American films that are produced in Canada are much more readily available. The radio is pretty much the same except for the fact that Canadian radio stations receive new songs a lot slower than American radio stations do. They are usually at least a few weeks behind. The same thing goes for TV: if a new TV show comes out, American cable stations will reach the public much faster than Canadian cable stations will. He pointed out that the first thing he noticed about the media in America was how much Americans love to talk about themselves. A news broadcast in Canada usually will show 90% global issues and 10% Canadian issues, and he was shocked to see how much of an American news broadcast is about American issues that simply are not as important as such things as the War in Iraq and global warming. I had always heard that other countries thought Americans were extremely self-absorbed, but to hear this face-to-face was even more convincing than all the claims I've heard on this foreign opinion. Jobie does not think the Americans take their freedom of press for granted. From this interview, I learned that the media is used in Canada in a very different way than it is used in the United States, from the news broadcasts being more "global" to the media obtaining information slower than American media. The thing that shocked me the most from the interview was how much other countries really do think America needs to "get over itself", especially a country that is right next door! I thought this was a very educational experience and opened my eyes to the views of other countries.