Classy trash

I doubt too many people would describe Newsweek in quite the way my title does. But let me tell you why I chose that title.

A couple of years ago, I went on vacation with my sister and a couple of other people. I knew we were going to be spending a lot of time in the car, so I brought a couple of copies of Newsweek along to read.

At the hotel, my sister got bored waiting for someone in our party to get ready to go out to dinner, so I loaned her one of my copies to read.

My sister is a Better Homes and Gardens, Vogue, Cosmo, etc. kind of reader, so she looked at me kind of funny. But, right away, she really got into reading it.

She handed me the copy back later, summing it up by saying "It's classy trash."

I had to laugh at the description. To be sure, Newsweek isn't the stuffy, serious-minded, sober or even boring, collection of facts and figures some people might think it is.

Instead, each issue covers a diverse range of information about weekly events. And I mean diverse. If Sharon Stone wore something unusual to the Oscars, you'll probably see a picture of her in Newsweek. If Madonna did something Madonna-ish (such as dying her hair purple or getting engaged twice in one week or becoming pregnant with twins fathered by Bill Clinton), it's bound to be featured as well. Heck, the magazine cover recently featured a pic of the remaining Survivor cast and inside there was a rather indepth feature article about the reality television show.

Of course, the magazine also deals with more hard-hitting issues. A recent edition rather extensively profiled many Olympians and also did a feature about the Firestone tire recall. And, of course, the race for president, and other political events, are also reviewed and detailed quite adequately. And, unlike a lot of other publications, they report on world events as well.

As someone who majored in Communications Study in Graduate School, I also really appreciate the amount of weekly space Newsweek dedicates to related technology. They keep me updated on things like wireless Internet standards, the latest improvements in CD-Roms, etc.

And, overall, the Newsweek writers tend to do a very good job of relating everything in a way that's easy to understand. They don't just report on an event. They give background information that puts the event in perspective. They explain terms that most people might not understand. They publish a lot of short stories along with the longer ones in order to give other perspectives. Basically, they go out of their way to make sure there stories are clear and informative.

One other thing I really like are the weekly editorials from Newsweek readers. They tend to deal with issues that are of interest to a lot of people, including myself. For example, a recent editorial was from a woman who put herself through college. She explained that she thought college students should do the same and not rely on their parents to pay tuition for them. She made a really good argument about how paying for college yourself makes you appreciate it more and builds character. As someone who breaks into a cold sweat everytime I open my student loan bills, I have to say that the editorial made me feel better about my own situation.

In as much as subscribing, I'm aware that some magazines really bug the heck out of you after your subscription runs out. My Newsweek subscription has lapsed a few times, but I've never felt annoyed by the Newsweek marketing department. They do try to get you to sign up, but they don't call your home at all hours of the day or night or flood you with obnoxious letters. Instead, they are more discreet, doing nice little things to get you signed back up. Once, when my subscription ran out, they sent me a postcard with a free stamp, for example.

And when you do subscribe, you usually receive free bonuses. The past couple of times I subscribed, I got a neat Atlas and a couple of glossy reference books with historical facts and things such as that.

Anyway, you might want to check out what Newsweek has to offer. If you're like me, you might find out after only a couple of subscriptions that you're hooked on "classy trash."