I’ve been reading Entertainment Weekly for years and years. I think I subscribed back in like 1993 or so. And I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with it. I’ve canceled my subscription on a number of occasions, mostly because I believed that it didn’t cover enough of the indie stuff I enjoyed (which is still largely true). But then I’d see an issue and realize that it is a fun magazine to flip through, so I’d re-subscribe.
Over the years, EW has morphed more and more. And each change to the magazine makes me like it less. And now in its current iteration, which happened about a year ago, I feel that they have removed all pretense to being a “smart” publication. Although, at least they stopped including the bold line of text which presumably highlighted the best line of a review. Evidently they thought we couldn’t 
read the entire half-a-column-length of an article. But they removed that, and it’s back to simple reviews.
I’ve always been sort of iffy about their rating system (A through F). It’s a simple guide, so it’s easy to see quickly whether they liked it or not, but as in school, it seems hard to pinpoint exactly what the difference is between say an A- and a B+. But hey, that’s their thing, so it’s okay.
And as a sort of all-purpose guide to entertainment, it’s pretty useful.
The new design has largely changed the order of things in the magazine. And so The Must List which used to be a small thing in the middle now opens the magazine as a full page extravaganza (highlighting in a nutshell what is wrong with this latest incarnation of the magazine–something that used to fill up a page at most is now a two page spread with bigger pictures!)
The Must List itself used to be a pretty enjoyable list. I can’t tell if it’s just summer and everything is lame or if their tastes have changed that I haven’t been all that inspired by the Must List lately.
Some of the new features are what most of us refer to as Spoilers! And EW has really become full of spoilers lately. Now, I realize that its hard to talk about books/movie without giving something away but I can’t tell how many significant plot point have been ruined by this magazine. Boo! The biggest offender is their touted new column the Ausiello Files. They seemed to make a big deal about scoring this guy (from where, I don’t know). And his section seems to be some sort of “inside scoop” about things that are happening in the entertainment world. The problem is, of course, that his “inside scoops” totally spoil whatever show he’s talking about. So, you’re flipping through the magazine, and hey there’s a picture from Chuck. (This example is made up, don’t fret). And you see something about an intriguing shake up. And then it tells you that Yvonne Stahovsky didn’t renew her contract, so she’ll only be on for 4 episodes [This is totally made up, I promise]. But hey, guess what Chuck fans, any syuprise plot point about her leaving is now ruined. And without a SPoiler alert to be found. His whole column should be called “Spoiler Alter.” Jerk.
The First Look section shows a peek into projects that are currently under way. If I was a bit more obsessed with movies and such this would excite me more, but mostly they talk about films that are in production but won’t come out for a year.
The News and Notes section “tackles” an “issue” that has been “gripping” the entertainment world. This also contains The Hit List which is a snide look at 10 events that happened this week. I am usually not aware of any of them so I just get to laugh at the punchline. I’m not even going to dignify the Shaw Report by talking about it.
The Monitor section covers births deaths and lawsuits.
And now they have moved what used to be the back page column to the front section. It features a rotating cast of writers, including Stephen King and Diablo Cody (whose pieces I used to really like but lately I’m a little bored by her pop culture antics). And, now there’s a delightful feature (sarcasm implied) in which they rate the outfits of a female celebrity for the week (or so).
And the major articles. I can’t recall the last major article I’ve read in EW. Their obsession with American Idol is insane, and lately it’s been all about Twilight. Bah. This most recent issue is devoted to Mad Men which we like, but we’ve only seen season 1 of so we don’t want any spoilers.
And then we get the reviews. The Reviews are, for the most part, the reason we get the magazine . Owen Gleiberman and Lisa Schwarzbaum are pretty decent reviewers, so I tend to trust them. But really its the new releases on DVD section that is more useful to us as we very rarely get to the movies these days.
I think for us, though, it’s the TV section that is most useful. We don’t watch a lot of TV, but EW is very good about keep us appraised of what’s coming up, and what’s worth watching. It feels like you can get decent DVD and CD information anywhere, but TV is surprisingly under-covered. So, even if they spotlight shows we can’t stand (just about anything with an abbreviation in the title and reality TV) they also strongly supported Arrested Development and Better of Ted and shows like that. We also enjoy the Sound Bites, where they list their favorite quotes of the week’s shows…although summer is definitely slim pickings. Oh, but last week the whole What to Watch section had a yellow advertisement bordering the whole section for some crap show that no one will ever watch. It pains me to see this magazine sink so low.
Next is Music. And although EW has always been about major corporate rock (unlike in TV where they really pull for the indie show, their music section is all about big acts) they usually have one indie rock review per week (and it will be big name indie rock most of the time). So, yes, it’s not my first go to source, especially if I’m, like keping it real, or whatever, but it’s nice to get second opinions for some of the bigger indie releases.
Books come next. And the book reviews are pretty decent. I like that they tell you the kind of book it is under the title, and that they tell you if its a debut or not). The Books section is something I always look at and, because of what I like to read, sometimes I find a book that I wouldn’t normally.
And then finally, they replaced the columns (that I mentioned earlier) with the stupidest back page item I have ever seen. The Bullseye. The problem with the Bullseye (in addition to it being stupid…we’ve already got the must List, we need ANOTHER graphic representation of what the magazine likes?) is the absolute crap way it is maintained. First, each “item” on the bullseye is represented by a picture, and there’s a comment (snide or otherwise) underneath. SO, if you don’t recognize who is in the picture, you totally miss the joke/point. Here’s a couple holding hands and it says Rhymes with Mouchebag. But who the hell are they? I have no idea. Thanks for nothing bullseye. And I accept that I should be expected to know something about whatever they’re riffing on to get the joke. We don’t watch True Blood, so the joke on this bullseye is lost on me, and I’m okay with that, but at least I know what I’m not getting. If you don’t even hint at the joke, well, that’s just lazy.
But even beyond that, I have a general problem with the bullseye itself. I understand the concept of the bullseye. Things that hit the mark are in the center, and things that don’t work are outside. But what about something like “Best DVD title of the month–Cagney & Lacey: The Menopause Years” It’s like 3 rings from the center. So, is it the best DVD title, but just not the best thing of the week? Is it a joke so it’s not really near the center? I just don’t know what they’re trying to tell me. And, I realize totally that I am working too hard at this graphic. But, if they’re going to fill up the back page with this nonsense, it should at least be good.
Phew. Such invective! Why do we keep subscribing?
Well, as I said, mostly it’s just to keep up on new information. My coworker tells me that the EW site has more information and is more useful in general. I never look at the site because I don’t really want more of the magazine. We know what we like from it and we know where t get it. And since our last subscription price came out to cents per copy, we’ll keep it for now. The magazine used to be a good solid chunk of reading time. We now finish with it in about 45 minutes, sometimes less. Sometimes it makes me feel dumber just reading it. But at least I know that Project Runway is starting again this week,
Original mention in Periodicals Page:
Entertainment Weekly. Ah, time to unwind with fluff. And there’s little that’s more fluffy than EW. A great source of information for upcoming books, music and TV, and when its not droning on and on and on and on about American Idol, its actually a pretty good read too.
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