Magazines geared for the African-American audience have carved out a unique niche, thanks to a perspective that other mainstream publications all too often miss.
For example, as Ebony tells it, perfect cover couple Denzel Washington and his wife, Pauletta, are a testament to love and devotion. Unfortunately, if you’ve ever read a tabloid, you would know this 30-year relationship isn’t as blissful as it appears. The feature story was clearly holding back. Come on, this is a Hollywood leading man! A story about him shouldn’t be so boring. Ebony makes up for it somewhat with a harder hitting look at Chicago violence, balanced out with lighter fare on fashion stories. It is definitely at its best when offering advice on what jeans to wear to cover your derriere.
Juicy, a pop culture title focused on black celebrities, is like your typical supermarket tabloid — only less juicy. “Scandal” star and cover girl Kerry Washington is a great red-carpet twirler. Former “American Idol” contestant Fantasia Barrino shares her diet secrets, etc. There are pages of photos of beaming stars and their kids and similar benign stuff. We give credit to one highly entertaining piece on Diddy’s 20-year-old Bad Boy Records label. Author Bonsu Thompson writes about girl clashes at the label in its early years, including this diss from Faith Evans directed at singer Mary J Blige. “I’m like, ‘I didn’t do anything to her, so I don’t have to call her for s–t’.”
A rudderless Essence, until it tapped Managing Editor Vanessa Bush two weeks ago as editor-in-chief, is still struggling to find its way in its most recent issue featuring Kelly Rowland on its cover. Like Essence, which has already gone through two editors in as many years amid flagging readership, Rowland also is vying for relevance. The former Destiny’s Child songstress cum The X-Factor judge played second, or perhaps even, third fiddle to Beyoncé and may not strike readers as someone who merits the cover of the 43-year-old women’s glossy. Rowland confesses that “for a long time” she wasn’t “happy” but denies that had anything to do with Beyoncé’s success. When the Time Inc.-owned publication isn’t delivering dull profiles on fading stars, it’s offering halfhearted coverage of the Trayvon Martin verdict. Another feature by a black Harvard scholar explores the idea of “unconscious bias” against African-Americans from an ivory tower perspective — but it misses an opportunity to deliver a more inclusive discussion and kick off a genuine dialogue on race relations.
Upscale clearly wants to be an aspirational and uplifting voice. Even the cover story on the stars of the cancelled VH1 Series “Basketball Wives” speaks about how these women are getting themselves together. It feels like a stretch, though, to believe that Evelyn Lozada was not really the woman portrayed in the show when months after its cancellation her football player husband, Chad Ochocinco, head-butted her, leading to divorce. “I’m a totally different person at home,” she says than on TV. OK then. A full-page pictorial featuring founder and publisher Bernard Bronner with famous people is a bit over-the-top. Bronner, who produced the movie “Stomp The Yard” and whose family runs a large ministry and hair-care business, does not need to prove he has made it by showing he once stood next to Janet Jackson.
The cover of New York’s fall fashion issue is graced by the lovely Lake Bell, who is wearing nothing but a giant tattoo of a fresh-cut rose across her torso. Turns out it’s a fake tattoo, which may come as a disappointment or a relief to readers. What is unquestionably a disappointment is a photo shoot of Marc Jacobs showing off his own tattoos, a few of which are scandalously goofy. The supposed fashion genius’s right bicep is graced by none other than SpongeBob SquarePants. Not to be outdone, the right shoulder bears a red M&M with arms and legs, waving and smiling stupidly. Was he paid for these? There’s no good answer for that question.
Remember 10 and 20 years ago, when everybody was kvetching about the Disney-fication of Las Vegas? Well, Time is reporting that now all the roller coasters, celebrity-chef restaurants and Cirque de Soleil shows are coming back to haunt Sin City. Or, at least, the nightclubs and kid stuff aren’t enough to offset a huge drop in gambling revenue, to $9.4 billion last year from $10.9 billion in 2007, according to the story. “Does it mean that a nation raised on risk — from gold-seeking Forty-Niners to Texas wildcatters to Wall Street arbitrageurs — has lost its appetite?” the mag asks, with a sense of alarm. Come to think of it, this might make a good talking point for Jamie Dimon.