Fayetteville FEED’s readers aren’t full
Nobody ever said the transition from online multimedia magazine to print would be easy, especially in this era of declining print media.
The online version of the FEED is a weekly updated entertainment news site, providing all there is to know about the music scene in and around Fayetteville. Though it is undeniably overstuffed with advertising, it is a comprehensive and informative online publication. So why go old school?
As one of the online readers said in a sarcastic letter to the editor, “Glad to see you are developing new technology, because, as everyone knows, print is the future and online is in decline.”
The editor of the FEED, James Johnson, was equally sarcastic when he replied, “Right you are – websites just can’t catch up to the ever evolving technology that is print media.”
In a phone interview, Head Correspondent Jaymie Baxley said that the print version was more targeted to the audience they were writing for.
“The internet is a big place,” said Baxley. “There are a lot of people that might like our magazine, but never come across it on the web. In a coffee shop, though, it is on the rack next to a few other things, not thousands.”
Despite the amazing local band coverage and great diversity in the artistry discussed, the FEED’s “115% Concentrated Awesomeness” seal is going a little overboard. The writing is mediocre, and a lot of the profiles are written Q&A style. While Q&A has its merits (namely, it is the lazy way out of actually writing an article), it is usually only used to ask a famous person about their favorite ice cream flavor.
The print version of the magazine may be slightly more aesthetically pleasing, without all the blinking, flashing, distracting ads, but was it really necessary? Nearly every one of the articles published in the magazine was published on the site months ago. I never would have found the site without the print version, though, so it did it’s job in that respect.
Last month, the FEED distributed 15,000 copies (yes, three zeros) to more than 100 businesses and organizations in Cumberland County (including Methodist University). The magazine is full-color and printed on heavy gloss paper. It is clearly a costly publication, and being distributed for free. Even Time Magazine and Rolling Stone use cheaper, thinner paper on the inside pages.
“It’s not profitable,” said Johnson. “We have a 50/50 chance of succeeding with this.”
His abundance of optimism must be paying his bills. Publishing 15,000 copies of a free magazine isn’t cheap, even with all those internet and print ads.
Speaking of ads, some of the upstanding products and/or businesses who have invested in the FEED include: Dax’s Deal, a used car dealer selling Bentley’s and Beamers (which is applicable to all poor college students), Guns Plus, offering concealed-carry classes (good thing that would lead to expulsion from Methodist’s campus), Bud Select 55 (go ahead and buy a case for that RA Program), multiple real estate firms (because most students are preparing to buy their first or second house), and The Rock Shop, displaying their daily beer and liquor specials.
Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these advertisements, except for the fact that they are being distributed on Methodist University soil, and the FEED seems to be targeted toward an under-aged audience, unlike City View or Up & Coming. As one of the most conservative campuses in the area, it seems unfair for an external publication to be profiting from advertisements that a student paper such as smallTALK could never even hope to profit from. Sure, it would be great to utilize the campus’ great market for alcohol and firearm advertising, but we’d prefer to not be shut down by administration.
“It’s a magazine for young adults,” said Johnson. “It’s not for the teachers.”
Johnson and Baxley also mentioned that they’ve had no negative feedback on the layout of the magazine. If they’ve been waiting for that negativity, they should talk to a graphics major.
“There’s nothing that says this is the same magazine from one page to another,” said Aaron Casteel, a sophomore graphic arts major. “Just because you have Photoshop, doesn’t make you a designer.”
Here are the highlights: the ads are horribly placed in relation to articles, two full spreads are wasted on randomly posed photos, there’s a complete lack of cohesion in the graphics, the otherwise good photos were placed blindly (and without sensible captions), and the fonts from page to page aren’t consistent (including a script font that no one in the smallTALK office could decipher).
The Fayetteville FEED caters to the young adult portion of the local population. They are the only glossy magazine that covers these stories in such depth. They could easily become the entertainment magazine for this age group. That said, the staff over there have a lot of work ahead of them.
The online version of the FEED is a weekly updated entertainment news site, providing all there is to know about the music scene in and around Fayetteville. Though it is undeniably overstuffed with advertising, it is a comprehensive and informative online publication. So why go old school?
As one of the online readers said in a sarcastic letter to the editor, “Glad to see you are developing new technology, because, as everyone knows, print is the future and online is in decline.”
The editor of the FEED, James Johnson, was equally sarcastic when he replied, “Right you are – websites just can’t catch up to the ever evolving technology that is print media.”
In a phone interview, Head Correspondent Jaymie Baxley said that the print version was more targeted to the audience they were writing for.
“The internet is a big place,” said Baxley. “There are a lot of people that might like our magazine, but never come across it on the web. In a coffee shop, though, it is on the rack next to a few other things, not thousands.”
Despite the amazing local band coverage and great diversity in the artistry discussed, the FEED’s “115% Concentrated Awesomeness” seal is going a little overboard. The writing is mediocre, and a lot of the profiles are written Q&A style. While Q&A has its merits (namely, it is the lazy way out of actually writing an article), it is usually only used to ask a famous person about their favorite ice cream flavor.
The print version of the magazine may be slightly more aesthetically pleasing, without all the blinking, flashing, distracting ads, but was it really necessary? Nearly every one of the articles published in the magazine was published on the site months ago. I never would have found the site without the print version, though, so it did it’s job in that respect.
Last month, the FEED distributed 15,000 copies (yes, three zeros) to more than 100 businesses and organizations in Cumberland County (including Methodist University). The magazine is full-color and printed on heavy gloss paper. It is clearly a costly publication, and being distributed for free. Even Time Magazine and Rolling Stone use cheaper, thinner paper on the inside pages.
“It’s not profitable,” said Johnson. “We have a 50/50 chance of succeeding with this.”
His abundance of optimism must be paying his bills. Publishing 15,000 copies of a free magazine isn’t cheap, even with all those internet and print ads.
Speaking of ads, some of the upstanding products and/or businesses who have invested in the FEED include: Dax’s Deal, a used car dealer selling Bentley’s and Beamers (which is applicable to all poor college students), Guns Plus, offering concealed-carry classes (good thing that would lead to expulsion from Methodist’s campus), Bud Select 55 (go ahead and buy a case for that RA Program), multiple real estate firms (because most students are preparing to buy their first or second house), and The Rock Shop, displaying their daily beer and liquor specials.
Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these advertisements, except for the fact that they are being distributed on Methodist University soil, and the FEED seems to be targeted toward an under-aged audience, unlike City View or Up & Coming. As one of the most conservative campuses in the area, it seems unfair for an external publication to be profiting from advertisements that a student paper such as smallTALK could never even hope to profit from. Sure, it would be great to utilize the campus’ great market for alcohol and firearm advertising, but we’d prefer to not be shut down by administration.
“It’s a magazine for young adults,” said Johnson. “It’s not for the teachers.”
Johnson and Baxley also mentioned that they’ve had no negative feedback on the layout of the magazine. If they’ve been waiting for that negativity, they should talk to a graphics major.
“There’s nothing that says this is the same magazine from one page to another,” said Aaron Casteel, a sophomore graphic arts major. “Just because you have Photoshop, doesn’t make you a designer.”
Here are the highlights: the ads are horribly placed in relation to articles, two full spreads are wasted on randomly posed photos, there’s a complete lack of cohesion in the graphics, the otherwise good photos were placed blindly (and without sensible captions), and the fonts from page to page aren’t consistent (including a script font that no one in the smallTALK office could decipher).
The Fayetteville FEED caters to the young adult portion of the local population. They are the only glossy magazine that covers these stories in such depth. They could easily become the entertainment magazine for this age group. That said, the staff over there have a lot of work ahead of them.
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