The New Yorker is still THE Magazine of New York City

Since the last review of The New Yorker on Epinions was over six years ao in 2001 it seems time to review it again. This review will address two major issues about the magazine: what has changed and what remains.

One major change is that the magazine is no longer delivered in the postal mail with a brown cover wrapper. The address label is still a sticker and not an integral part of the cover itself like many other magazines.

Many readers pick up the magazine and page through it stopping only to glance at the cartoons and either chuckle lightly or moan. It’s a rare cartoon that gets the scissors clipping so the cartoon can be posted on the refrigerator or near the water cooler. If you haven’t read the magazine in the last two years the newest feature is Cartoon Caption Contest on the last page. There are three cartoons. The first is the cartoon for the week and readers are asked to submit a caption at The New Yorker website. The second cartoon is a previous week’s cartoon with three captions chosen by the cartoon editors. Readers can vote for the best caption at the website. The last cartoon is latest winning caption and the person who submitted the winning caption gets the original copy of the cartoon signed by the author as the prize.

There isn’t much else new other than the news itself which the magazine comments on weekly. The cover art maintains the tradition of subtle satire and whimsical scenes. There are still four gazillion insert cards per issue.

The magazine is still popular primarily because the readers want what the magazine offers. There are four main sections: Talk of the Town (true New Yorkers call the Big Apple a town), essays and a short story, the critics (books, theater, cinema and television) and poems. Talk of the Town usually addresses some urban issue in New York City or a political event. Recent columns featured Senator Clinton and NYFD personnel with recent health issues stemming from September 11.

Essays are eclectic: religion, science, medicine, and business are among the popular categories but a recent issue discussed criminology and ecology. The fiction showcases contemporary authors, many of whom are relatively unknown for the general reader. A recent issue printed a short story by Roberto Bolano, a Chilean novelist and poet who died in 2003.

The critics are a varied group. John Updike is a regular contributor and I personally agree with the tastes of the film critics David Denby and Anthony Lane. I read the theater critics carefully so I don’t waste a ton of money on an awful play.

Poems often feature well-established poets but often introduce newer poets. Poetry and fiction are quite subjective so most of the criticism of the magazine is really a difference in literary taste.

There is a front section, Goings On About Town, that lists and briefly reviews many of the plays, nightclub acts, museum exhibitions, art gallery shows, films and other cultural events. Any visitor to New York City should pick up the latest copy just for this information alone.

Advertisements are geared to the more affluent but often feature off-beat items not ordinarily found in mall stores.

The New Yorker magazine website is www.newyorker.com and the current cover price of an issue is $4.50. Subscriptions have varying prices with discounts available for groups.