I just noticed a headline on CNN’s home page titled “6 Simple Ways to Save Energy at Home” which turned out to be an article from the magazine Real Simple. I thought, oh, maybe I can Twitter that.
Real Simple? Try real boring.
Their CNN-worthy tips? Switch to compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Install a low-flow showerhead. Wash your clothes in cold water.
In other words, we can’t afford to pay a good writer to create something original, so we’ll just regurgitate the same old editorial crap we’ve served you twice a year since the dawn of man.
It doesn’t seem fair that this magazine is still in business but those of real value like Blueprint, Domino and Home Magazine have all bit the dust. And it seems beyond lazy of CNN to feature this article under the heading “Latest News.”
Not to mention, if you are one of the few shelter mags remaining in the wasteland that is the current publishing industry, recycling content is not the way to lure readers of now-defunct magazines to your rag.
Just sayin’.
Just a thought – maybe these simple tips are still being published today because most people are STILL not doing these simple things?
Have you seen the mag Atomic Ranch? It’s one of my faves and I am glad it is still in business. I get sick of the regurgitation too!
Elisa, I think the exact opposite is true…most everyone’s already on board with CFLs and whatnot. At least, it seems like everyone who’s going to embrace those changes has already done so. At the end of the day, it’s not interesting, and it’s not “news” if we’ve already heard it and seen it ad nauseum.
Jennifer, I totally heart Atomic Ranch. And ReadyMade. I wish I could say there were others I was rabid about. It was more fun when there were several to drool over, no?
I DO agree with you that that’s OLD news – just saying that I bet a lot of people are not making these simple changes. Maybe not the people you know, but I can name a couple of people that I personally know that might not even think about these simple things. It’s a socioeconomic thing, I would think. These people might not even read Real Simple, or any decor magazines, but they just might, just maybe, check CNN.com.
Or maybe I’m over-thinking it and it’s just that CNN and Real Simple were just lazy.