Magazine Post 1 – Tabitha Phillips

My magazine is PC Gamer. What a disappointment. There are no female writers on staff and it shows. I was thinking about switching to Game Informer, but I don’t think they have an ladies writing for them either. But, that’s ok. I’ll just ignore that for now and talk about PC Gamer’s writing and the kinds of articles they’ve been publishing. I definitely like the longer-form articles that give useful information for gamers, such as the technology reviews and the game previews. The writers manage to take tired, formulaic stories and give them context and readability.

http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/diablo-3-preview-2/

This article came out in December, but I only read it recently while I was searching for Diablo III previews. It’s great for hardcore fans that are eager for the juicy details, but not so great for readers that just want some general information about this new game. As a Diablo fan, I didn’t mind the nitpicking and the specificity of the article and it made me want to read more about the game and read more opinions from the PC Gamer staff members who are currently playing the beta version.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/03/02/windows-8-beta-first-impressions-brave-but-flawed/2/

This was a great article because the review was intelligent and useful. The writer kept his audience in mind and provided enough information to let the reader consider the advantages and disadvantages of Windows 8 themselves. He also used his own knowledge and expectations to give his experience using the Windows 8 beta some much needed criticism.

Overall I think PC Gamer is a well-written magazine with a good understanding of who its audience is, but I still think that they could fire at least a couple of their writers and replace them with some women-folk.

Writer Post 1

My original writer hasn’t been writing anything! He is still one of my favorites, but I think he is focusing on other forms of advocacy at the moment. Due to time constraints, the only other writer I’ve been following is Susana Polo from The Mary Sue blog. The blog follows geek culture from a woman’s perspective. Is it the most sophisticated blog? No, it isn’t. But it does cover a range of topics that are guaranteed to peak my interest. Polo posts just the right combination of silly and serious. She posts news and features and occasionally posts opinion pieces. Recently she posted about the racist remarks made on twitter and other sites about the casting of Rue in The Hunger Games. I like how she writes because she provides context along with what is happening. Her wrote about lack of diversity in Hollywood and biased reader expectations along with the core of the story.

Her twitter account has a lack of story-links in it, but they are entertaining. I think she uses the account as an extension of the blog, rather than a promotion of it.
She also writes pure essays such as the Wonder Woman critique concerning the very strange plot twist that seems to serve no purpose other than to demonize a female society. These essays help me understand the other more news-based writing she does, why she chooses to publish certain stories and the included context.
http://www.themarysue.com/wonder-woman-7/
Her writing is not formal and traditionally journalistic, but it is relatable and it sparks discourse among its readers. This is the kind of writing that I would pay for in magazine form.

Magazine Post 2 – Gina Borg

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/04/titanic/cameron-text

National Geographic has gone Titanic crazy, but not because it has a crush on Leonardo DiCaprio. The magazine has received multiple updates from James Cameron as he re-explores the wreckage that lies beneath. The linked story is written by James Cameron and follows his eery, but strangely sweet journey into places on the ship that previous equipment would not allow him to enter. I also checked out some of the videos and an interactive map that allows viewers to see where Titanic’s remnants lie along the seafloor.

The entire article was based on James Cameron’s personal experience, so no one else was interviewed.

This piece is really kind of fluffy. The only reason to read it is if you are particularly attached to or interested in the Titanic tragedy. It impacts those interested by giving them a more accurate picture of the ship.

Cameron’s tone is almost that of a ‘dear diary’ entry. It worked, and I enjoyed it, but it was a little unusual in comparison to most other features I’ve read. It might have worked well as a podcast. I was glad to see the video and interactive graphics accompanying the article.

If I was the writer, I would tweet this feature as “Reliving Titanic” or “At Home on Titanic.” I would want it to express the sentimental, reminiscent aspect of the article.

Writer Post 1- Sarah Lightle

My writer, Andrew Evans, has been traveling constantly for this entire semester. I know this because he updates his twitter approximately every hour, thus his tweets basically consume my news feed. He spent the majority of March in Mexico exploring ancient Mayan areas and writing about the supposed end of the world.

Despite the sometimes obnoxious tweets, I really like the way he interacts with readers. He’s always fielding suggestions and tips about places he’s currently at or places that he should go. My favorite part of following his travels is that he plays somewhat of a game with his followers. When heading to a new destination he posts obscure clues periodically and readers submit guesses and followup questions. It’s kind of like an interactive game of clue, minus the murder.

Another aspect of his writing that I enjoy is that he doesn’t leave out the unpleasantries he comes across. I feel like I read a lot of travel articles that glorify the destination or focus on irrelevant negatives. Evans clearly gets to know the areas he’s exploring and the people in them, and he writes about them without holding back. 

Magazine Post 1- Sarah Lightle

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/02/table-of-contents

The February issue of National Geographic has possibly the funniest cover I’ve seen of their publication. But, in true Nat Geo fashion, the article that goes along with the photo isn’t a comical piece. How to Build a Dog explores dog DNA and how the knowledge of its makeup could impact human genetics. 

Really my favorite thing about this article are the photos. The magazine contains a pull out page of wallet-sized pictures of every breed imaginable. Big, small, scary, fluffy, it covers them all. The article itself makes takes the complicated issue of dog DNA and explains how, through their faster than natural evolution, dogs’ traits have become dictated by singular genes as opposed to numerous, like humans. For instance, height in humans is determined by over 200 genes while the difference between the size of a dachshund and a Rottweiler is determined by one gene. 

Although some of Nat Geo’s content seems mundane at times, I’m always amazed at how they can take such complex research and information and make it applicable to readers. One way they help break the barrier between genius scientists and regular humans is through stellar graphics. In this article alone, there are 3 info graphics, all of different forms, that explain everything from most popular breeds to the breakdown of the three main genes that determine what a dog looks like.

Plus, who can resist tons of pictures of cute dogs?

Magazine Post 1- Sykes

Cure Today has varying articles that range from scientific focuses to more advice centered topics.  Their columns are written for those affected by cancer, in hope to make the circumstances easier.  Cure Today’s mission statement shares the magazine hopes to make the complicated science of cancer understandable for humans.  

A particular column I have enjoyed reading in Cure Today is called “Caregiver’s Corner.” The most recent article published in this column discussed how to ease a child’s anxiety when the parent has cancer.  The article acknowledges differences in age groups and how reactions may vary in associations with the age changes.  Overall, the article suggests that open honesty can be beneficial in this situation, contrary to the typical shielding a child from the hard truth approach.  I think that I appreciate articles like this in a scientific magazine because while there is in depth science involved when it comes to healthcare and cancer, it all revolves around people who have needs.  I am thankful that this magazine acknowledges not only the science behind cancer, but also the person with cancer’s emotional needs and relationships as well.

Atul Gawande Post 2-Sykes

I recently read Atul Gawande’s article titled “Letting Go.” The article was published in The New Yorker.  Gawande discusses the concept of death in his writing, exploring what it really means to die and if our healthcare system handles death appropriately.  He compared modern deaths to those in the past centuries.  Modern deaths are much more prolonged given medicine these days.  In his writing, Gawande discusses how society should handle death.

Like many other of Gawande’s articles, he opens his writing sharing a more personal story that captures the reader.  This particular story was an attention grabber and definitely a bit emotional.  He shared the story of a young woman who was pregnant and discovered she had deathly lung cancer during a check up.  He then transitions to discussing different approaches and attitudes people take when encountering death.

The aspect of Gawande’s writing that stood out to me the most in this article was his use of quotes.  I suppose I am more on the look out to see how he tells a story versus how I tell a story as I recently turned in our innovation piece. He is very good at telling a story and using quotes to support as opposed to using quotes to tell the story, which I think I often do.

Magazine Post 1- Kelly Whitmire

http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/story/_/id/7710341/texas-rangers-driven-world-series-loss-espn-magazine

 

The magazine I am following is ESPN The Magazine. The magazine offers a more in-depth look about sports and athletes than the actual channel.

 

The article, by Howard Bryant, is about manager Ron Washington and the Texas Rangers trying to rebound from last year’s World Series loss. It discusses the hardships of getting a team all the way to the World Series, being one strike away from victory and trying to motivate a team to get that far again. The article goes on to explain

 

In the article, Bryant interviews Washington and Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus. He also cited other teams,the 1960 Yankees and 2003 Red Sox, that lost in the World Series or league championship games that went on to win the World Series the next year.

 

The article would be useful to Rangers fans or sports fans in general. It would mainly appeal to people who think the Rangers have a chance to go to the World Series again.

 

The story works, but I would have interviewed more players or coaches. While it’s interesting to hear from the manager’s point of view of players who actually played in the series. I also would have added an audio or video interview with Washington.

 

Same Tweet: Rangers attempt to bounce back from World Series loss.

Magazine post 2-Abbie

I’m a Runner: Ben Gibbard

By Amy Reinink

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-544–14174-0,00.html

Runner’s World has a really cool section of their magazine called, “I’m a Runner.” In this section, someone famous is featured discussing running as an important part of their life. There are a variety of different people who are profiled in “I’m a Runner” –from actors, musicians, politicians to famous athletes. On the Runner’s World website, each article includes direct questions from the writer, followed by a paragraph or two of the person’s response. There is also a picture of the person profiled. Some of the articles even include a short video of them discussing when they started running, why they started running, etc.

The most recent article I read from this section was about Ben Gibbard, the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie. In the article Ben discusses why he decided to become a runner and what his training is like when he has a busy schedule of recording and touring.

I really enjoyed reading this article and watching the video clip because it is interesting to learn about why these famous people like running. I also love hearing stories about the first time people run. I think it is cool how “I’m a Runner” sometimes includes videos of the person that is interviewed. To me, they are really fun to watch. The only thing that I would change about it is the variety of questions that the writer asks. I read the article on Ben before I watched the video that followed, but I noticed that the video often went over the exact responses that were written in the article.

Tweet: Even famous people have a runnning story

Writer post 2-Abbie

http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=25586&PageNum=1

The World Cross Country Championships have been taking place on the third weekend of March for more than 100 years, except this year. In this article, Roger Robinson makes a long argument for why the IAAF’s (International Association of Athletics Federations) cancellation of the meet was a poor decison. Robinson, himself, once participated in the race, and it is easy to see his frustrations at it’s cancellation in his article. He points out how at the peak of the world championship race there were 76 countries that took part. To Robinson, it should not be forgotten that cross country has the ability to bring together many different nations. The World Cross Country Championships will still happen, but it will be held every other year from now on.

I think this article has the ability to stir emotions in those who are hard-core, obsessed cross country fans. But for those who have a healthy interest in the sport, there probably is not much to be concerned about since the race will still go on, just not every single year. Robinson is definitely passionate about the sport, but he is understanding of why the IAAF made their decision and he lists the reasons why they decided to limit the race to every 2 years.

I think it would have been cool if Robinson had used quotes from runners who have participated in the World Cross Country Championships. The article gives us a ton of Robinson’s own insight on the race, but it would have been interesting to see how some former participants feel about the issue.

Tweet: World cross country has a new gap