A couple years ago, my family went to Media Play, and upon our checkout
the cashier presented us with the opportunity to receive eight free
issues of Entertainment Weekly. Though we weren’t familiar with
the magazine, we were happy to accept the offer, and soon we began
getting our copies in the mail. We were happy with the arrangement until
the eighth issue came and went without our noticing and suddenly we had
a big fat subscription bill in our mailbox. We managed to cancel the
subscription without having to pay any fees and swore we would not
accept any more free offers, but every time we went to Media Play we got
the offer and couldn’t resist those eight free issues. So now we just
have to pay better attention if we want to get the magazine without
paying for it.
Our latest “free subscription” ran out a few
weeks ago, and though I went to Media Play last week, the cashier did
not offer the deal and I didn’t ask. We’ve gone through several
stretches without the magazine because, while we find it interesting and
entertaining, we can’t reconcile the cost of the magazine every week
with our attempts to be budget-conscious. However, a good friend of mine
usually gets the magazine, and she often passes it along to me so I can
catch up on what I’ve missed.
Entertainment Weekly
isn’t a terribly substantial magazine. It isn’t uncommon for an issue to
contain more than 100 pages, but many of those pages contain ads while
others focus prominently on photographs and still others are filled
mostly with short snippets about one thing or another. Generally I don’t
mind the brief format employed throughout much of the magazine. When I
pick up an EW, I’m usually just looking to skim through anyway,
unless something particularly catches my eye. There are always a few
in-depth articles to offset all the shorter items, and these are well
done.
As an American Idol junkie, I particularly enjoyed EW last year with its frequent focus on the contestants and their prospects. Unfortunately I didn’t secure a copy of the clever Brady Bunch-style
cover which featured several of the contestants and judges, but I did
enjoy reading what the editors had to say about the second season’s
crop, particularly Clay Aiken. I have come to the conclusion that the
folks over at EW are a rather cynical bunch, and as a result I
often disagree with their analyses of certain pop culture phenomena. I
noticed that when it was on the air, they seemed to be particularly
virulent in their disdain for Touched by an Angel. And I was dismayed that when Art Garfunkel released Everything Waits to be Noticed, the first album on which he took songwriting credits, EW
failed to even mention it, even though it came out the month that their
magazine featured an extensive list of new music releases.
Although my brother and I refer to EW
as “ewwww,” we both find it informative and witty, even if we disagree
with the opinion being presented. Some of my favorite aspects of the
magazine are their periodic lists on everything from tear-jerking movies
to powerful celebrities; their weekly guide to television with
editorial comments on each show; their numerous features on American Idol and Lord of the Rings;
their various media reviews, particularly for movies; the letters from
the readers, who are often very passionate and aggravated with EW; and the once-every-three-weeks column by Steven King. The weekly Hotsheet,
which highlights short items of interest from the previous week and
adds a humorous comment, usually contains a selection or two that is
very entertaining. My favorite, accompanied by a caricature of a
grungy-looking Bob Dylan, was printed just after he performed at the
Grammys in 2002: “The audience is wondering what song Bob Dylan is
singing. And what other song his band is playing.”
Maybe I
just got used to the format after receiving the magazine in the mail for
several weeks, but in spite of the sometimes irritating attitudes of
the editors, EW is probably my favorite entertainment-related
magazine on the market. Maybe one of these days I’ll actually start
paying for it...
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