Magazine Review: Blah Blah Blah

This week saw the launch of MTV’s new magazine Blah Blah Blah (Newsline 16/01). The monthly publication costs £2.50 and has a matt finish. The appearance of Blah Blah Blah is extremely modern and tries to capture the ‘fragmented nineties’ in the style of its layout. While this may appear stylish and innovative to look at, it makes the actual features very difficult to read: text is small, often placed over the top of graphics or photos and is set out in a haphazard manner, with text being both horizontal and vertical.

Trying to read something therefore takes a considerable amount of effort, but in fact the articles can be quite interesting. Most of the features are obviously about music and bands: those featured include Menswear, Madonna, Iggy Pop, the Prodigy and Northern Uproar. A wide variety of tastes are catered for. There are also pieces about snowboarding and fashion. The ad:ed ratio is 18:80 and the ads predictably cover beer, clothes and energy drinks. MTV keeps a low profile throughout, the only ‘plug’ being on the last pages which feature information about MTV’s programming.

Music Press Readership Profiles: Age/Adults Source NRS 07/95-12/95