Get past the fluff and advertisements to find excellent writing - Vanity Fair
Written: Jun 06 '04 (Updated Jun 07 '04)
Product Rating:
Quality of Gossip:
Pros: stories by some of today's best journalists and writers, great photography, engaging writing
Cons: Can get carried away with celebrity stories and other 'light' material
The Bottom Line: It's worth picking up an issue when you see a feature story that catches your interest - it’s bound to be well written, researched, and informative
jps246's Full Review: Vanity Fair Magazine Subscription
A magazine filled with many articles on the rich, powerful and famous, along with a smattering of other material, Vanity Fair at times, kneels at the foot of the shrine of money, power, celebrity and excess – except when it breaks through with stories that are truly interesting and engaging to a wider audience – which is why I still continue to pick up issues here and there.
Vanity Fair features editorial content from well-known journalists, authors and renowned photographers which are all geared towards an affluent, younger-middle aged demographic. Articles and content run the spectrum from stories about Brad Pitt to an expose on a wrongly convicted person in jail. These articles are all very well written and that are engaging even to readers not interested in the specific topics. The accompanying photographs are also excellent and ad to the stories that they grace. Stories generally are quite long (and have small text to fit more on a page) – but are broken up by some level of advertising.
The magazine is published 12 times year and on the newsstand an issue is $4.50. If you get a subscription directly from the Publisher (Conde Nast), issues are $1.25 each for a year price of $15.
Basic Contents
First off - advertising! Vanity Fair is filled with advertisements. Well over half of each issue is commercial advertising – ranging from small advertisements to multi-page spreads and fold out advertisements. It can be overwhelming and it truly detracts from the magazine itself – there are that many. The ads focus on products for the more affluent among us: liquors; cars; fine watches; colognes and perfumes; expensive electronics; and more.
The editorial content of each issue is broken up into five major sections: Features; Fanfair; Columns; Vanities; and Et Cetera.
Features
The meat of each issue – this is where you will find the major cover stories of each issue. The stories are well researched and written and run about 10 pages in length. Generally a few pages of each featured article are contained in the middle of the magazine, the rest of the story is continued in the back. The articles are somewhat advertisement free (considering the rest of the magazine) but some stories are broken up somewhat by the ads. The feature stories cover many topics from politics to money and power, celebrities and in-depth stories on various current topics or events.
Fanfair
Fanfair is a look at "30 days in the life of culture,” which basically means a look back at what’s happened since the last issue. Try to think about it as a look as a round up of what is new, exciting and happening right now. There are quick stories on celebrities, activities for the month, new movies, music, books and theatre, travel ideas, and a horoscope.
Columns
You’ll find a collection of columns from writers and journalists in each issue of Vanity Fair exploring a variety of topics. Each issue features about six different columns with topics that range from simple observations on an idea or topic to short, in-depth stories on things such as the possible spousal abuse physicist Stephen Hawking may be suffering. This is one of my favorite portions of the magazine – there are so many topics covered that there’s also something that interests me.
Vanities
Vanities is a monthly look at culture and celebrity with humor, interviews and quick stories. It’s mostly fluff, but for those interested in those kinds of things, it’s a worthwhile read.
Et Cetera
Split between the front of the back of the magazine, Et Cetera contains the general sections that most magazines have: a letter from the Editor; a quick look at the issue’s contributors; letters from readers; credit for the clothing, makeup and items used in photos and articles; and a closing questionnaire.
How’s it read?
Putting beside the articles on celebrities, gossip and the like, the editorial contents of Vanity Fair are excellent. Some of today’s best writers and journalists contribute in each issue and their stories are illustrated by some of the best photographers. It’s hard not to love at least some of the material.
When there is a story that you are interested in, you’ll be drawn into the story and appreciate the in-depth writing that doesn’t gloss over stories but provides details and clear reading. You may have some questions going into a story, but likely after reading one of the feature stories, you’ll come out having learned something.
How often do you read it?
I’ll admit it, I pick up the magazine when a cover photo or story grabs my attention. The latest was “Brad Pitt Naked” with a close-up photograph picture of Brad Pitt. What self-respecting gay man (or straight woman) could pass that one up. Of course there’s only a picture of his upper torso inside, but the story and the accompanying photography were fun to read (I know, I know, a story about a celebrity – fluff – but it’s fluff I like). Once I got beyond Brad, I found other stories that I was interested in and I enjoyed most of the magazine. Of course, like everyone else, I skip sections that don’t interest me – so out went most of the other entertainment/celebrity stories, but several of the columns and features earned a second read for me – just because they were that interesting.
In general I’ll pick up a copy every couple of months – at that rate it’s probably cheaper for me to get a subscription, but between the amount of advertisements in each issue and the fact that while every issue has something that interests me, I’m just not that interested in most of the topics to get an issue every single month, I’d be suffering from advertising and fluff overload.
What do you think
I can’t give Vanity Fair a bad mark considering the excellent writing and photography in each issue – however I hate the amount of advertising in each issue and I’ll admit that a good part of the editorial content is just a higher-class version of what you find in People or Entertainment Weekly.
Keeping the negatives in the back of your head, I’m sure that there will be stories and articles that you not only like, but also really enjoy. Just get ready to rip out advertising inserts, flip past innumerable ads and skim the fluffy stuff to find those stories.
Website
www.vanityfair.com offers basic subscription services for readers. Beyond being able to purchase a subscription to the magazine for yourself or as a gift, there isn’t much to offer on the site. The only other major content is the ability to send a letter to the Editor. There’s really no reason to visit the site unless you need to manage your subscription.
Final Thoughts
Sure there are a lot (and I mean a lot) of advertisements and a lot of the magazine is devoted to stories on celebrities, politics and other topics some might consider but Vanity Fair also offers hard-hitting articles by top writers and journalists and accompanying photographs by some of the best photographers today.
It might not be worth a subscription to some, but it’s definitely worth picking up an issue when you see a feature story that catches your interest. It’s bound to be well written, researched, informative and in-depth.
And hey – just about everyone wants to see Brad Pitt naked sometimes.
Recommended:
Yes
Primary Reason for Buying: Articles This is a: Tabloid
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