There’s No Place Like The Newsstand…There’s No Place Like The Newsstand…

A Mr. Magazine™ Musing…

Some Yellow Brick Roads do exist and not just in the Land of Oz. If you follow the trail of what’s going on in our world today, the great and powerful Oz awaits you at the end of a road called “Newsstand.” And it’s there that you can find the stories that stimulate your brain; touch your heart; and more often than not; bolster your own courage as well.

In the life of Mr. Magazine™, there’s no place like the newsstand. It’s where I meet my new friends, old friends and my well-established friends; those who are very dear to my heart: my beloved magazines.

And with this Yellow Brick Road, you know what’s behind the curtain; you may not know what the exact outcome of that particular journey will bring you, but you can rest assured that it will be provocative and emotional as the magazines and their covers grab your attention and refuse to let it go. It doesn’t matter if you’re at the airport, train station, bookstore, or the supermarket; you know that the welcome mat is out, no one is going to tell you to “go away” and your friends will be there to meet and greet you.

As reflectors of the society that we live in, magazines do the same thing that they did yesterday and will continue to do tomorrow: they mirror our thoughts, emotions and the events that are happening in our lives. For example, as we hear all of the political rhetoric; the pros and cons of our new presidential resident and his team; or the assaults on the media or the assaults on the president; magazines play their own role in all of this, by being reflectors of these unsettling and unrestful times that we live in.

To show you what I mean, there is a commemorative issue on newsstands now called “Bikers for Trump,” which Easyrider magazine came up with in stalwart support of our new president. And then on another wave of the magical magazine wand, Condé Nast launched a magazine called “Rise Up,” a publication about the “Women’s March on Washington” in protest of President Trump. And then you have those magazines out there who illustrate yet another sentiment of folks who try not to take either political side, such as “Mad Magazine” that vowed on its most recent issue that they wished there was nothing about Trump between the pages of that particular issue. By the same token, just to show that magazine publishers can be magnanimous and shouldn’t be depicted by some as the Wicked Witches of the West, Condé Nast released not only the “Rise Up” issue to protest the president, they also did a magazine entitled “TRUMP, Golfer In Chief,” where their Golf Digest magazine published a special issue on President Trump and his “golfing” habits.

There are magazines out there that have a strong opinion and those that might have one, but have sworn to stay non-political. There are magazines that support Trump and magazines that do as much damage to his presidency as a falling house would, but you can rest assured magazines are out there to reflect on all sides.

So, when you need to step back and really see what’s happening in our world today, here is some aged and wise advice that was given to a young lady a long time ago; albeit this time around it’s the good wizard of the South, “Mr. Magazine™” who is offering it:

Just close your eyes and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself, “There’s no place like the newsstand; there’s no place like the newsstand.”

Until next time…

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Magazines Matter. Print Matters. That is the theme for the Magazine Innovation Center’s ACT (Amplify, Clarify, Testify) 7 Experience that will take place April 25 to 27. Space is limited, so check the agenda and register to join us for an experience of a life-time.