Blog assignment for this week

As always, you must write one post after each class and before the next one. This is the rule for the entire semester — one post per class meeting, posted before the next class meeting.

Your Kite Runner essay does not count as a blog post.

One of your two posts for this week must be about magazines, specifically, I want you to examine a magazine and write a brief, but critical, analysis of it. When I say "criticize" the magazine, I don't mean tell me what's wrong with it. I mean, examine it with the eye of a critical media consumer, and make some judgements about it.

Some questions to think about, that will help you with your analysis: How would you describe the typical consumer of that magazine? Are you typical? What type of writers write the articles, and do you think they are well written? Is the content of the magazine, both the advertising and the editorial content, appropriate for the audience? Do you think there are too many ads in the magazine? (And how much would you be willing to pay for it if there were no ads?) How would you describe the editorial "slant" of the magazine? Do you think the editorial affects the advertising, or vice versa?

Please note: You don't have to answer all of these questions. Don't even try. Think about them, though, and then write your critique focusing on one or two of them, or some other relevant question you feel strongly about.