Entertainment Weekly vs. US Weekly
Entertainment Weekly launched in 1990 and is published by Time Inc. It discusses entertainment in general, not just one specific arena such as television. In any given issue you are likely to find pieces about music, television, film, books, video games, and theater.
US Weekly, originally known as US, was first published in 1980, and was very different from the version of the magazine being put out presently. Originally a monthly designed to compete with the likes of People magazine, the magazine in recent years has changed direction. Where the magazine once stood out amongst its competitors for its wonderful photography, it now fills its pages with shots taken by paparazzi.
While both Entertainment Weekly and US Weekly deal with the entertainment industries, they are two very different publications. Entertainment Weekly or EW is much more text and article based than US. Though it does feature snippets in the beginning and end of the issue such as “Deal Report” which reports on recent deals that have been made, “Hit List” which lists the 10 hottest topics in the entertainment biz, the tiresome “The Shaw Report” which is a chart of what’s in, what’s 5 minutes ago, and what’s out, and “The Must List” which lists “Ten Things We Love This Week,” Entertainment Weekly has feature articles as well. Recent topics have included “MTV Turns 25,” “Top Gunn” about Project Runway’s Tim Gunn, and “Oliver Stone’s Ground Zero” about the filmmaker’s new September 11 based movie. Now none of the features in EW will win a Pulitzer but they are much meatier than what US Weekly serves up.
Following the articles, Entertainment Weekly provides thorough, often tough, reviews of upcoming movie releases, reviews of what’s coming out on DVD, and write-ups of television programs. Following the television show write-up is a compendium of the week’s upcoming notable television programs. These are particularly funny as usually a sarcastic comment about the mentioned show is included underneath the listing. Finishing out the reviews section are pages on books and music. On the back page of the magazine you can find a few different things depending on the week. Sometimes you will get a pop culture quiz, a column by writer Stephen King, or Stupid Questions with… (a celebrity).
US Weekly serves up fluff to a readership of about 1,750,000 people every week. It focuses more on the lives of celebrities rather than the work they are putting out as performers. Right off the bat you can see the fusion of celebrity, voyeurism, and trends as the opening pages of the rag feature famous women dressed in the latest look. This week it happened to be plunging neck lines. Immediately following that is a page where celebrities who have worn the same outfit are pictured next to each other and a ranking is placed over each of them. Usually 100 people in either New York City or LA vote on these. Before even getting to the table of contents, you can find the Loose Talk section. In this section stars are quoted saying such things as “Who’s Tony Blair? Oh yeah…He’s, like, your president? I don’t know what he looks like,” (Paris Hilton to a British reporter) and “People love me in my underwear…It’s my public service. If I’m not in my underwear by page 50 of the script, I’m very unhappy.” (Will Ferrell).
After the table of contents I find my favorite section of US Weekly, “Stars – They’re Just Like Us.” This is a full page spread where stars are shown doing seemingly normal activities just like us plain folk. Some of these gems include “They pick lint off their boyfriend’s shirts” and “They get overheated.” My all-time favorite is from a few years back when Britney Spears was captured walking barefoot into a gas station bathroom. I don’t know about you, but that’s not like me at all!
By this time you’re probably ready for some articles. You’ll have to keep waiting. What follows is page after page of things like “new sexy couple alert” accompanied by a photo, sometimes a grainy one, undoubtedly taken by a paparazzi, or someone talking about a recent breakup or an announcement about a famous leading lady’s pregnancy (or even just unconfirmed rumors about it). Finally, right before the first article is the “VIP Scene” where US Weekly spends half a page listing clubs and shops specific celebrities have been spotted at in recent days. Frequent ink getters here are Lindsay Lohan, Mischa Barton, and Jake Gyllenhall.
Now for those “articles” I was speaking of. US certainly plays favorites with its cover subjects and these are the people the articles are written about. Most of the time, at least in the past six months, you can count on articles about the Jessica Simpson/Nick Lachey break-up, Brangelina, Jennifer Anniston/Vince Vaughn. These pieces are written at what appears to be a fourth grade reading level, in other words, perfect for standing on line at the grocery store or for sitting on the beach. A lot of times they are filled with unsubstantiated information, unless you count a hotel bellboy eager to trade his personal observations for $50. reliable. When you are reading the articles you will notice that you don’t get much text on a page. US loves to put charts and timelines next to the words, you know just in case you need a break from reading three paragraphs in a row. Brain candy this is not.
Finally towards the end of the magazine, some actual entertainment is covered, but not before you leaf through pages of the latest beauty products celebs are using or jeans they are wearing. A very brief guide on what to watch on tv the week ahead is included, typical shows mentioned are Laguna Beach and The. O.C. Upcoming movies are mentioned as well, though not reviewed, more like summarized in three sentences.
As if you haven’t had enough fashion photographs already, US Weekly draws its magazine to a close by having the snarky fashion police comment on all of Hollywood’s “don’ts.” Contributors to this section are often the talking heads that can be found on VH1 as well as a bunch of other comedians I’ve never heard of.
As I have said both Entertainment Weekly and US Weekly deal with Hollywood. They are not to be treated as equals however. I wouldn’t say that one is necessarily better than the other. It depends on what you are looking for in a magazine. If you want to find out about where Jessica Simpson likes to party or what products she uses in her hair then US Weekly is the right magazine for you, but if’ you’d rather know if her upcoming cd is any good, then Entertainment Weekly’s what you’re after.
