Glenn Beck on Magazines

Glenn Beck, conservative talk-radio and television host:

So there I was staring at the wall of magazines, and I started to think…who reads all these things? Didn’t there used to be, like, five magazines—Time, Popular Mechanics, Good Housekeeping, Life and Highlights?  I remember when People came out and it was MAJOR news.  A magazine just about…people? How decadent!  Now, there’s a magazine for everyone no matter how obscure your tastes.  Magazines for cat and dog lovers…stamp collectors…Civil War re-enactors…vegetarian yoga fanatics who like bluegrass music.  It’s nuts. (Webmaster’s note:  Mr. Beck’s flippant attitude toward the magazine industry does not apply to Fusion, his own groundbreaking publication that you can subscribe to elsewhere on this site…).

I also noticed that magazines have gotten awfully thick…almost like books. Who has time for all that reading?  Aren’t magazines supposed to be thin and manageable…like “lite books” for people who don’t love to read and like lots of pictures?  Sure, if all the magazines were all about Iran, illegal immigration and the end of the world, that would be one thing—I’d read those all day long!  But when they’re about speedboats and rap music, who really cares?