Can sex sell magazines that don't sell sex?

As a happily engaged 30-year-old dude, I have no problem admitting that I've leafed through the pages of Playboy and Penthouse, and a few other "peek-a-boo"-style magazines that will go unnamed, over the years. (Whether I was actually reading the articles is another blog post altogether.) But these days, as a guy who enjoys reading features in magazines like Entertainment Weekly and ESPN the Magazine from time to time, I expect a bit less skin and a bit more pen.
  I was a little put off, then, when I picked up the Nov. 26 issue of EW and Nov. 29 edition of ESPN to find smut-ish covers staring back at me. The former features actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway having a good laugh together, embracing each other stark naked (obviously, there are no nipple slips or anything like that … and I'm sure there's a bit of Photoshop at work, too). The latter? Olympic downhill skier Lindsey Vonn doing an extremely good impression of Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, about a second before the most famous spanktrovision moment in movie history.
  First of all, what should advertisers think of this? Did any cancel at the last minute? Or did they flock to something like this, because blatant sexual references on covers sell magazines? A 10-year-old could walk into a Barnes & Noble today and probably pick up both of these issues. No problem. But that same kid would have to be 18 to get his hands on a Playboy or Penthouse.

What other odd jobs can media execs try?

When publishing vet Cathie Black was tapped to be the next New York City schools chancellor, critics questioned her fitness for the job, considering she's an outsider to public education (and sent her own kids to boarding schools). But maybe there are jobs for media executives in public service that take their experience into account. How about putting Chuck Townsend in charge of the Staten Island Ferry? David Pecker for finance commissioner? Nominate your own choices in comments.

Cooking up some Web-to-print plagiarism

The absolute hell has been aggregated, tweeted and re-reported out of this story about writer Monica Gaudio, who had a story lifted from a Web site by one Cooks Source magazine for its print edition without her consent. (I found the original piece via Twitter on the Guardian's Web site. I wanted to take a second to chime in, given the fact that I spent four arduous years at a liberal arts institution, writing scads of essays, working in the college writing center (editing my peers' writing) and taking exams under a strict honor code (Connecticut College is my alma mater, if anyone's keeping track).
  During my undergrad years, it was made clear that plagiarism was the worst thing you could do as a student—or writer, for that matter—and if caught, it would be within the college's rights to expel you. (I remember a few peers being thrown out for it while I was there.) Certainly, growing up the son of an English professor and college administrator helped get the point across to me, too. Plagiarism has always been something I've taken very seriously.

'Woman's Day' masthead gets ad-friendly

We never thought of magazine mastheads as sacred editorial space, but in our July issue of Woman's Day, it sure is hard to tell where the editorial ends and the advertising begins. A question at the top of the masthead page asks: "What fun twist do you put on classic BBQ dishes?" Below, various staffers offer their answers. Meanwhile, an Oxi Clean ad on the same page seems to respond, chiming in with the copy, "Barbecue stains, you're cooked." (See the full two-page spread here.) In the previous month's issue, a Clorox ad "answered" a masthead question about entertaining advice with a cleanup tip. Hey, who needs the expertise of editors when we've got advertisers?

—Posted by Lucia Moses

Post Oscar, Jeff Bridges tunes up cover for Guitar Aficionado

Hyundai couldn't use Jeff Bridges to sell cars during the Oscars, but the Academy Award winner is fair game outside that restrictive TV show and Guitar Aficionado intends to take advantage right away. The magazine (no relation to Cigar Aficionado, in case you were wondering) will use a cover story about the musician/actor to move copies of its upcoming spring issue. The luxury publication, launched by Future US, Inc. about a year ago, often features famous multi-hyphenates like Tom Colicchio and John McEnroe, along with stories about pricey baubles and vacations. Bridges, who spoke eloquently about his love of music during the protracted Oscar campaign, told the magazine what attracted him to the role of an alcoholic, past-his-prime country singer in Crazy Heart: "Bad Blake is one of those 'Dude' parts. It's the kind of part you know you're born to play. Bad's the last of a breed, one of those guys they just don't make anymore -- like Kris [Kristofferson] or Waylon Jennings or Merle Haggard. The role was such an open canvas for me to work with. And hey, the chance to actually do my own singing and guitar playing on film -- what a trip!" The pub promises more musings from Bridges on his craft and a peek at his guitar collection, along with other stars you'd expect (Metallica's James Hetfield) and ones you wouldn't (Rocco Dispirito?).

— Posted by T.L. Stanley

'Esquire' tops Oprah on Roger Ebert story

Oprah tried, boy did she, to wring every last maudlin minute out of Tuesday's interview with Roger Ebert. But even the reigning queen of the three-hankie talk show couldn't ruin his appearance for me. Ebert, the iconic movie critic who's battling cancer that's already claimed his lower jaw and left him unable to speak, spent the hour answering questions through his voice-activated computer. His devoted wife, Chaz, was by his side. Whether you agree with the guy's politics or not—he's been taking swipes at the Tea Party via his Twitter feed lately—he's an inspiration in his refusal to feel sorry for himself, his courage in the face of unimaginable pain and his voluminous writing under circumstances that would've caused most people to throw in the towel. The problem with Oprah's show was that I'd heard some of these poignant tales before in the recently published Esquire cover story by Chris Jones. And, sorry Oprah, but Jones did it better. It's a heartbreakingly beautiful tribute, make no mistake, but any inherent sentimentality takes a back seat to Jones's slavish attention to detail and his gimlet eye on his subject. Classic case of show, don't tell. It's a lovely read—try not to weep, I dare you—and a reason to support long-form journalism while it still exists. Watch the Oprah clips, too (Gawker has a smattering), but don't skip the source material.

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

College women sure love their 'Seventeen'

Who knew Seventeen was so popular with the co-ed set? We thought the teen magazine was strictly a high-school read, but it's actually the third most popular title (after People and the much-racier Cosmopolitan) among college women, according to Student Monitor, the longtime tracker of college kids' reading habits. It was quickly apparent why when we flipped open our March issue of Seventeen and saw the amount of content devoted to adult topics ("What Guys Really Think About Sex," "You've Done It. Now What?" and "Sex Myths Guys Believe.") Their male counterparts apparently are right there with them: Men's Health was third most popular among male college students, behind Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine.

—Posted by Lucia Moses

Free is free, however you want to look at it

I'm right now listening to Radiohead's In Rainbows and reminiscing about when I downloaded it for "free." (I actually decided to pay two or three pounds for it.) What a concept that was! And then, of course, came the backlash from the industry, musicians and critics. "It's setting a dangerous precedent," some said. "Free is the end of the record industry," said others. But all the while, I felt it was a good idea. I also remember, around the same time, Paste magazine copycatting by doing its own pay-what-you-want for a yearlong magazine subscription (I ended up paying $1, I think; I didn't renew after the year). Sure, the "free" idea isn't all that novel. Hulu and Pandora have been doing it for years now (with obvious setbacks—ad breaks—for users), as has just about every major industry for as long as I can remember. Think about the "Buy one, get one free" deals you hear about all the time from restaurants. Or even the free deli-tray giveaways at the supermarket. (I always loved those as a kid.) The reason for those is obvious: You take one bite of the free aged Boar's Head cheddar, and you just have to buy a half-pound. I say free is good. Keep it coming.

—Posted by Will Levith

'Garden & Gun' offers Southern comfort

About 10 years ago, I fell in love with everything Southern. I blame my favorite band, Son Volt, for this. For those of you who don't know me, I have several cowboy shirts in my weekly clothing repertoire; I have a giant collection of alt-country, country rock and roots albums and memorabilia; and I enjoy eating barbecue most of all foods. So, of course, one of my favorite magazines of late has been Garden & Gun, which provides a hefty helping of life below the Mason/Dixon line—including great past features on supper clubs (after reading it, I wanted to start my own!), the best Southern rockers (there was a fabulous feature recently on Grammy Award winner Lucinda Williams and her poet father) and, of course, hunting, shooting and everything gun-related. (I must admit, I'm not a gun owner, but I've had a hankering to be a hunter for a long time.) You might think, for a native New Yorker, this taste would seem out of place, but give this 'zine a good read and you'll know exactly what I'm getting at.

—Posted by Will Levith

My giant media-conspiracy theory, part 1

In this year of the Great Recession, I've felt that the quality of newscasts and news reporting by the major players has taken a major turn for the worse. Sensationalist and celebrity-oriented bullshit is what passes as news on most major news Web sites and TV channels now. Like, for example, crooked-nosed Brian Williams reporting on Michael Jackson's funeral like it's Afghanistan. Which is why I think there's a conspiracy out there to report bad news. There's no other logical explanation. Somewhere in the Hamptons, there lives a gnome, whose one goal in life is to get tons of hits for his blog—and who is planting all this garbage in the press. He holds sway, because he was once a journalist, is independently wealthy and has made great media connections. (Hence, Brian Williams. I've been told he's the guy that made Williams' nose crooked.) Here's a recap of some of the anti-news stories the gnome made popular this year:
  —The gnome leaked stories about an unfaithful Jon and a distraught Kate to all the major news organizations, starting one of the worst news arcs in modern history. The gnome also suggested Kate's hair would make a great Halloween costume. 
  —Recently, the gnome snuck into Tiger Woods's gated community in Florida and cut several wires under his dashboard, causing the golf star to drive out of control and crash. He also leaked photos of Woods' injuries to TMZ. (The gnome is supposedly on the site's payroll.)
  —Fox News was initially contacted by the gnome (via BlackBerry) about the balloon boy saga. The gnome then leaked the story to The Huffington Post, but told his old friend Arianna not to put it atop breaking news so that she could "argue its low news value well after the fact." 
  —One of the first known reports of Michael Jackson's death was leaked by the gnome. He was thought to have snapped the shot of Jackson on the stretcher that OK! magazine ran on its cover days after the incident.
  —President Obama's birther conspiracy? Leaked by the gnome to Fox News and Drudge. The gnome and Drudge, reportedly after a long night of dancing and drinking in Miami, came up with the term "Teabagger" as well.
  —The White House crashers met the gnome on vacation in the Hamptons. He pitched them on the idea of world fame, but warned them of the consequences of showing up on CNN and TMZ for the rest of their lives.
  —The gnome was one of the first people to realize that a Facebook status update was exactly the same as tweet on Twitter. He lobbied the media hard to paint the two as different, though—he argued they could make big deals out of two ridiculous things, rather than just one.

—Posted by Will Levith