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| Just US Magazine Front Cover |
Media consumers are about to pass around a new tabloid that is set to cause quite a sensation. It is called Just US and at first glance appears similar to the rags ubiquitous in newsstands all over the city. It is marked with lots of saturated color and strange fonts and borders. One reason this "tabloid" might stir up trouble in the male dominated patriarchal world of publishing, is that upon closer inspection it is has a decidedly feminist bent. Instead of information about what celebrities are wearing, it informs readers about the work of women employed in government, media outlets and activist organizations. There is a page with a photograph ripped from US Weekly magazine of celebrity women, most with their mouths open, quoted saying inane things about what they eat and how horny they feel. US Weekly, by the way, as well as Star, National Enquirer, Sun, Fitness, and the preposterously named Fit Pregnancy are all owned by American Media International (AMI). David Pecker the chairman and CEO of AMI, is responsible for "catch and kill" stories. This practice means AMI buys exclusive rights to stories that might embarrass his friend Donald Trump but never publishes them. In fact, Trump's lawyer paid AMI not to publish the Stormy Daniels story. Unbelievably, US Weekly boasts a readership of 50 million. That is a lot of entertaining "news" regarding the minutiae of celebrities lives.
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| Just US Magazine Inside Cover |
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| Just US Magazine Page 1 |
Turn the page in Just US (it's all in the title, people) and you see pictures of women engaged in intellectual and artistic pursuits accompanied by intelligent, informative quotes. Skip ahead and you will find a profile of the journalist, broadcaster and author, Amy Goodman. She is well known in the liberal media for hosting Democracy Now! and is often invited to speak at universities. She has never been featured in a celebrity magazine. Another reason Just US might never reside next to People Magazine is that it features a few female graffiti artists. An illegal activity this publisher has chosen to highlight instead of the legal artistic pursuits of the artists, an interesting and controversial choice.
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| Just US Magazine Page 2 |
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| Just US Magazine Page 3 |
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| Just US Back Page |
If you are a reader interested in activism, take a look on the back cover where two organizations are profiled. I recommend pursuing them on-line where these groups are engaged in combating sexism with action that tends to get results. Finally, go ahead and indulge in a National Enquirer or pick up a copy of People magazine; the one you can't help spying at the dentist. I know you are dying to find out who Meghan Markle is spending Christmas with. Read them indulgently and then think about the media class you took at Hunter College. Consider all the readings of feminist academics (potent), poets (beautiful), writers (informative) and the lively class discussions and think about what women in media means. Read pop culture everywhere through the lens of feminist critique and remember that feminists also exist in a hierarchy of privilege. White feminists with the most privilege have a duty to make way for feminists of color. White women have a duty to step aside and let the voices of non-binary feminists be heard.
Resources:
Black History 365
SNCC Digital
David Pecker
Refinary29
The New York Times
Rewire News
Fair.org
Netroots Nation
USA Today
Office of the Mayor of SF
Polygon
Makers
UCSC
Yes Magazine
Huffington Post
Ultraviolet
NYTAG
US Weekly, Issue 43, October 22, 2018
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