Maybe it's Time for Law School?

Last Friday, Ed got some bad news. His beloved CosmoGirl is following in the footsteps of Teen People and ELLEgirl, R.I.P.

Many insiders believe teen mags are unable to sustain their reader base because most teens want to read Cosmo, not its younger sister, and turn to cheap weeklies like Us Weekly or People for their celeb fix. News reports about ad pages flooded Ed's screen, but all he could think about were his friends at the mag trying to pay rent or health insurance bills for the next few months.

Breaking into the industry is notoriously tough, but is this more evidence that print is getting closer to its last breath? Even CG founder Atoosa Rubenstein spoke out about the industry's dire situation: “I don’t think it’s the death of the girl, but the death of the magazine, and certainly the sign of the times” she told WWD.

Everything's been hit by the recession economy and ad pages are no exception. Thousands are getting laid off in every industry. Ed's other friends think the mag world is here to stay--albeit in a different form. Ed has been brushing up on his HTML, but can't field a lingering doubt that maybe his parents are right and it's time to give up that pesky childhood dream of writing for a living? Ed hates to say it, but is it time for whipping out those dusty law school applications?

What do you think? Will it be tougher for college grads to get jobs in May than ever before? Are Seventeen and Teen Vogue next? Ed wants to hear your thoughts!

Love,
Ed

Toe the Line

In the words of Jerry Seinfeld, what's the deal with...coverlines?

Isn’t it strange that that popular womens’ magazine coverline—“Walk off the weight”— is often shown alongside teases like “Scrumptious ice cream cakes” that have tons of calories a serving? And, what’s with lines that claim to “Save your life with this health test” or “Spice up your sex life with 5 easy moves”? Ed’s asking: Are misleading coverlines ethical?

Well, in their Code of Ethics, the Society of Professional Journalists says that journalists should “make certain that headlines … do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.”

Think about all the times you’ve read a coverline that totally enticed you (“Organize your closet in 5 minutes!”) and later, you opened the magazine to find three short, unhelpful tips? You feel duped and let down, right? Your magazine’s audience feels the same way. Too many false promises, and their trust in you will start to wane.

Don’t get Ed wrong—he knows that coverlines are a big part of selling magazines. He understands that they are meant to be entertaining and are a simplification of the stories inside. But couldn’t they be a little more…well…truthful? Ed’s sure we can all still write clever, persuasive, authoritative lines. Those brainstorming meetings might just last a little longer now. :)

What’s your take on the coverline issue? Thoughts?

—Ed

Moonlighting

Lately, as the economy's been tanking (gulp) and Ed's been having to count out his pennies in order to cover a venti skinny latte (vanilla, please!) he's been racking his brain for some creative ways to rake in the cash.

Obviously, there's bartending, and more than a few of Ed's mag friends leave the office on Fridays to head to shift #2. There's also babysitting, dog walking, cat sitting, personal training . . . all part time jobs Ed's friends have held while trying to climb the magazine ladder.

Finally, there's writing. Some of Ed's ultra-word driven pals spend their evenings and weekends furiously typing out query letters, essays, articles, and even books in order to rake in enough dough to cover their New York lifestyle. After all, a shiny $2 a word assignment at a magazine can really help pad a bank account. While most of these get the A-OK and well wishes from their boss, some of these staffers also fly under the the radar—using fake names or dropping bylines—because of rules prohibiting freelancing at their current mag.

Ed believes that honesty is the best policy, and talking over your goals and writing with your editor is the best way to get what you want, both in your writing life and in your work life. What do you think, Edsters? Do you have rules prohibiting freelancing? And what have you done about it?

xo, Ed