No one on the fifth-floor of Headland House last Thursday evening was likely to argue with writer Hina Pandya when she pointed out that “the freelance world (of journalism) is changing.” Indeed, everyone (well, at least the half-dozen people I had time to speak with) at London’s first NUJ Freelance Salon was there to “get […]
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Reviewing Theatre
The first rule of theatre reviewing, according to Lyn Gardner, is “that there are no rules – you’re writing a review to express your thoughts and feelings about a theatre show, not taking an exam”. Well, that’s fine as far as it goes. As she points out, a “theatre review” in our brave new digital […]
Changing Hands
Some magazines appear to have charmed lives. Or, to put it another way: while some publications never rank among the top-sellers in terms of circulation, they’re sufficiently robust concerns to survive (and, indeed, prosper from having had) more than one publisher. Take, for example, three specialist “coffee table” publications: monthly titles The English Home and The […]
Loaded no more.
I’ve never bought, let alone read, an issue of Loaded. Generally speaking, I despaired of the original lads’ mag and its focus on drinking, football, drugs, music and pictures of semi-naked young women. Yet, I’ll be the first to admit that I felt a twinge of sadness on hearing that the current April 2015 issue […]
Ginger Mag
Part of me can’t help but wonder why a magazine like MC1R hasn’t already appeared before – especially in Scotland. Then again, given this particular publication’s style and format, perhaps it isn’t that surprising. To explain: MC1R is a magazine aimed at, and about, people affected by a melanocortin-stimulating hormone receptor (usually abbreviated to MC1R) – a gene mutation which causes red hair. It’s […]
Crafty negotiations
Craft—by which I mean the likes of embroidery, knitting and card making—doesn’t particularly “float my boat”. However, I do have a mild curiosity about the related magazines those hobbies and professions inspire, not least because I imagine it’s a rather more competitive field than you might expect from all those soft pastel-coloured covers. Certainly, its […]
Something for Nothing
In August 2012, weekly London listings magazine Time Out—the foundation of what is now a global empire of magazines, city-guide websites, apps, guidebooks, etc—did something pretty radical. They started giving their magazine away for free. Previously selling for just under £3 an issue, the move was a major element in the re-imagining of Time Out […]
