First Issue Review – Tomorrow’s World Magazine
Here is the latest addition to the ever growing crop of BBC magazines. One by one the powers at the Beeb are turning programme after programme into glossy mags – some are hits (take for example the continuing success of Top Of The Pops Magazine which saw a 71% increase in its last ABC) while others are just needless pawns in the drawn out commercialisation of the BBC. So, what about Tomorrow’s World ? Well, if this magazine is a fair representation of what lies in store for us in the future then you’d best take a good book to read.
Admittedly, we were told from the start that this magazine was to be aimed at “older” ABC1 men. Presumably the editorial staff are working on the premise that by the time the “older” stage of life reaches us, we will have been the victim of so many repeated kickings in the proverbials that the zest to be properly entertained and informed will have vanished : thus Tomorrow’s World will find its niche. I still have far too much faith in the sound judgement of the general masses to see that this will clearly not be the case – this magazine will not last in its current form.
In general terms its editorial content lies somewhere in between Focus and New Scientist, both high quality publications in their own right, but TW suffers from trying to be too much at once. There is no clear direction to this magazine, even the editor himself seems to have little idea as to where the publication is leading. For a start he actually believes that this issue of his magazine contains, in part, both articles of a “shocking” and “humorous” nature in their own respect. By page 89 I was reading about various individuals who spend their time (and most worryingly a lot of money) building mini space rockets and firing them into the sky. The only emotions I had experienced up to this point were total boredom, rapidly spiralling downward into clinical depression. Building space rockets is one of those occupations that is so obscure to practice that the chances are that the only people actually interested in doing it are the ones already locked up in their garden sheds day and night gluing washing up liquid bottles together.
Unfortunately, this is the case with most of the features in this mag. Most of the chosen subjects are not particularly grabbing to begin with (for instance ‘the delights of driving a car’ or how ‘James Dyson has reinvented the vacuum cleaner’). More specifically, the angles used when approaching these subjects gives the finished articles about as much charisma and charm as a squashed hamster. The actual quality of writing is very much up to par, it all makes sense, and is quite easy to read, but then again shouldn’t that be a basic requirement of any magazine? Let’s face it I’m just desperately trying to find something positive to say about this, but I really can’t!!
Advertisers include; Casio, Nikon, Volkswagon, Volvo, and Adidas and the ad:ed ratio is 40:60. Launch issue price is £1, usual cover price £2.75.
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