These are the two latest holiday issues of Bon Appetit. When I received the November issue, I was so annoyed at how lack luster and poorly photographed it was. It was not inspirational, nor was it eye candy like last year. Today I received the December issue,same thing,BAD!
Let me back track here for a bit. I was a long time subscriber to Gourmet magazine,until they started filling their issues with perfume adds and just way too many adds in general. We started our subscription in 1982,and then finally canceled it in the late nineties I think. I got a call from them asking me what had happened. Wow, I could not believe that they called me. I told them why I had stopped my subscription,and they were very polite,and hoped one day I would reconsider and give them another try. At that time, Bon Appetit was on the top of the list for me,with gorgeous layouts,and wonderful inspiration, I couldn't wait until the next issue.
Years have passed since then, and I have way too many cook books and magazines that I have kept,so I decided to pull the plug on all of them,unless one issue caught my eye. Last year Bon Appetit did such an amazing job with their holiday issues that I thought I'd pay for a subscription again. Well, my very first issue was this past spring,and that is when they decided to reformat the magazine. I had flashes of bad memories when the magazine "Victoria" did this in the early 2000's and failed. I think Bon Appetit is now heading in that way. Gone are the eye candy layouts and wonderfully photographed travel articles,and my favorite section "Bon Vivant," is no longer. Instead they have very sterile layouts and what they think is artistic, drawings of food. In the July issue they did a feature on pies of the summer. The whole thing was drawn in graphics only, and you didn't even know what your end result would look like. Am I explaining this right? Has anyone else noticed how awful the new issues are?
I wrote them an e-mail, telling them that I'm letting my subscription run out,and why.Never got a response back from them.
I have noticed that "Gourmet" seems to have gone back to their old ways, so maybe it is time to give them another shot.
perhaps they changed art directors? trying to save money?
ReplyDeleteyou know, this sounds like short term thinking + high profit margins. whatever happened to pride in your handicraft, at least on the corporate level?
i got victoria magazine for 10 years. i did notice a change towards then end, then it stopped all of a sudden. (sadly i got rid of all of my issues literally 2 weeks before i knew they stopped publication!)
i was so excited to see it come back but i cannot even tell you how disappointed i was in the premier issue. and i know it's not just my perception b/c i did keep a few of my favorite clippings from the old ones and they are so beautiful.
i think you should tell them to cancel your subscription!! but that's just my opinion. :)
While I don't subscribe to Gourmet, I know what you're saying. As a magazine-aholic I hate it when I magazine I love, changes its format. I feel your pain (or disgust) Nerm
ReplyDeleteIt's all rules by advertising. One day magazines and papers won't be able to survives their cost of production. But still, you'd think they would try to dazzle us to keep us interested. I read a few food blogs at the moment, and only subscribe to Sunset magazine, which has food, travel and gardening.
ReplyDeleteIt's all rules by advertising. One day magazines and papers won't be able to survives their cost of production. But still, you'd think they would try to dazzle us to keep us interested. I read a few food blogs at the moment, and only subscribe to Sunset magazine, which has food, travel and gardening.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you had something to do with Gourmet magazine changing tack again..
ReplyDeleteBy ending your subscription they sat up and took notice!
Michele x
P.s Thank you Elizabeth for your lovely comment. It is the December issue of Country Living that is published in November.. always a month ahead.
Gah, I totally agree.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that saves Bon Appetite for me is that Molly Wizenberg from Orangette writes a monthly column, and it, like her, is always FANTASTIC.