How is magazine publishing part of consumer culture?
This essay discusses two publications in relation to specific aspects of consumer culture. The magazines under consideration are: Mojo and Word. They are both specialist music titles that appeal to a particular demographic. Editor Phil Alexander describes Mojo’s audience as: ‘Baby Boomers who allowed themselves a Friday afternoon spending spree in HMV[and] a new generation of post-Britpop music zealots’ [i] (Alexander, 2002) Mark Ellen, founder and Creative Director of Word, describes their readers as: ‘A bunch of discriminating, mainly over-30 readers who are not persuaded by the current offerings in the men’s and music magazine markets.’ [ii] (Music Week, 2002) A useful starting point might be an attempt to define consumer culture. Unfortunately there is no simple definition to cite. Different views have evolved over time; some attempt straightforward description whereas others adopt a critical stance. Argument about environmental and cultural perspectives has been underway since the
