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Magalogs
The place where magazines meet catalogs.
By Autumn Morris
 What in the world did you say? A maga-who? Magalogs? What are those?
You're probably more familiar with them than you think, but if you are still
wondering what a magalog is, let me introduce them to you. A magalog is a mix
between a magazine and a catalog. The catalog part is like catalogs in the past.
It displays a number of products that a specific company is selling. These shopping
aids have been around for a while and were mainly available to those who preferred
or enjoyed the convience of shopping at home. The magazine part is new to most
catalogs. It invites a journalistic aspect into the picture. Magalogs are a
hybrid of the two and although this may seem like an innovative stretch for
companies and journalists, there is reason to be suspect.
I have been reading articles in and about magalogs. The articles inside the
magalogs are usually geared towards the type of audience the company's catalog
would attract. Clothing magalogs may feature entertainment articles about contemporary
actors and actresses. For example, in the Abercrombie and Fitch Quarterly magalog
there are articles about Chris Masterson, Hill Harper, Florence Henderson, and
William Shatner. There is also an array of humorous features such as the "Ask
Santa Claus" section and a "Best Seller" books list that is filled with imaginary
books with make believe titles. Most features are made to fit exactly one page.
I don't doubt that these features are presented to win a consumer's favor with
Abercrombie and Fitch.
Some may argue that magalogs are all pure entertainment, but when does entertainment
cross the line to subliminal persuasion? I read that in the Sony magalog there
are articles about high tech, digital living that allow you to better prepare
yourself for the new technology age. However, these articles only suggest using
Sony devices — as if to say that without Sony your future will not be the
best it can be. In the Skin Market "catmag" (another name for magalog), the
items are skincare products, so of course their horoscope features skin products
for each sign.
Ikea also has a magalog which has an article suggesting a certain Ikea product.
All of the articles aren't like this, but there are enough to make you wonder,
"What's really going on?" If journalists are being paid to write about subjects
that are suggestive to a type of product, is it still journalism or a long advertisement?
Now advertisers have the opportunity to shape the environment in which their
advertisements are presented. Do we really want these businesses and advertisers
to have this much control?
Journalism will begin to look more like advertisement and advertisements will
begin to look more like journalism. I think that crossing these two completely
different forms of media with each other would be a terrible injustice. I know
I don't want to see journalists being pushed to write about certain products
in their articles. Are we that money hungry? I sure hope not.
—Autumn Morris is a Youth In Control web
intern as well as a peer teacher at Youth Radio.
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