Besides the Balance of Food (of course), where else do you get your food information?
I'm certainly not asking out of jealousy, but my curiosity is enhanced, given the news that Gourmet magazine was being shut down after 68 years.
You would think that Gourmet magazine would thrive in this era. We're more gourmet than we've been in years. Yet, so many struggle to put food on the table that perhaps gourmet was too high a standard. Or "fresh" and "local" and "organic" replaced gourmet as a buzzword.
But do people read magazines to get food information anymore? Waiting a whole month for a few recipes when the Internet is filled with them seems charming.
Anecdotally, it seems that people trust each other about the latest diet or a cool recipe. Word of mouth means something. True, people get the original source from somewhere, so a friend may like what a friend has to say, but the original source might have been a magazine article.
In a social setting over the weekend, my conversation with two young women turned to the Food Network. These women were obsessed over the shows, the restaurants, and the food involved with the cable TV channel. They were talking about a trip to New York City where they went to celebrity-owned restaurants. They weren't likely getting their food ideas from magazines.
But not everyone can do that, or wants to do so. Most current settings involve harried parents (usually the mom) rushing around, trying to gather what could be called dinner provided the preparation was quick and reasonably nutritious. But do they even have time to read from magazines?
Regardless of the subject matter, media outlets compete for your attention. Internet sites work alongside TV, magazines, other Internet outlets trying to get you, the reader, to look over here. But how people absorb news is changing as well. Friends of mine can read this blog with an iPhone.
The key is finding information that is entertaining yet precise and, oh yeah, correct. Having news that sounds good to the reader doesn't serve the readership unless it's true. People literally don't have the time to absorb lies or deceptions.
Unfortunately for readers of Gourmet magazine, soon they won't be able to have that choice. But there are plenty that want to take its place.
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