what I learned at MagNet: tips on service journalism from Anthony Licata

A few notes on service journalism from the session "Service Centre: How to Tune Up your Magazine"[update: session info no longer available on MagNet site] with Anthony Licata, editor-in-chief of Field & Stream.

Clear is better than clever. Don't make your readers do too much work; they'll just turn the page.

Make it fresh. Evergreen stories can be deadly; if you've seen it before, so have your readers.

Be ambitious. "Wouldn't it be cool if..." ideas are always worth pursuing. Take them as far as you can go before reigning them in.

Don't cut the life out of short writing. It's hard to write short, but when you're trying to fit, cutting the fun phrases and other bits of personality out can make a piece read like an instruction manual.

Teach with a smile. Service pieces can pack in a lot of information and be exhausting. Lighten the mood and keep it fun so you don't tire out your readers.

Your cover should make a compelling promise. Deliver on it with a service package that's well worth the cover price. Even if they read nothing else in that issue, readers should feel they got their money's worth.

It's not all about service. Pacing is important; you can't use the same approach for all stories. Neither should all stories be service pieces; sometimes you just need to tell a good story. Give breathing room to all those itsy bitsy pieces.

books: Up For Renewal by Cathy Alter

Do you follow the advice of magazines? In her soon-to-be-released book, Up For Renewal, writer Cathy Alter chronicles her year-long social experiment of using magazines as her guiding force in life. I'll spare you the book review – I just wanted to point out the fascinating premise:

"Cathy gave over her life to the glossies for the next twelve months, resolving to follow their advice without question. By the end of her subscriptions, she would get rid of upper-arm jiggle, crawl out of debt, host the perfect dinner party, run a mile without puking, engage in better bathtub booty, ask for a raise, and rehaul her apartment."

The book reminded me that, although I always take magazine advice with a grain of salt or adapt it to my own purposes, some people out there must blindly follow the counsel of service journalism. When packaging content, reducing solutions to 10 easy steps, perhaps it would do us well to consider this. I wonder, is it reckless of us not to?