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Reviewing Good Like A Rock Record

L.A.-based magazine for "people who give a damn" gets a music critic's treatment

By Dylan Stableford – February 23, 2007
good_media_2007.jpgGood, the Los Angeles-based startup for "people who give a damn," has made it to its 3rd issue, and already has the gumption (nay, balls) to put out a "media issue." They seem to have a fan in Vanity Fair's Graydon Carter, who contributes a foreword-style essay on his favorite all-time magazines before Good editors pick 51 of theirs.

A track-by-track review:

The Ads:
After getting minimal flak for running a Marc Jacobs ad featuring a pair of men making out on a bear rug, the designer opens the issue again (nothing gay this time.) Patagonia, Ralph Lauren, Paul Mitchell and IFC dot the issue, as well as an ad for Al Gore's Current TV, which might as well be a house ad considering Gore's son, Albert, is the magazine's associate publisher. (Where was the media transparency there, fellas?)
The Features:
Carter's introduction to the "51 Best Magazines Ever" is nice if forgettable, save for this jab at Time Inc.: "Many of the big magazine companies, such as Time Inc., are run these days not by people who love magazines but by people in search of profit." The list itself includes, well, every magazine you would think of (Esquire, Vanity Fair, New Yorker, Wired) including Carter's own legendary launch, Spy. The focus of a timely state of TV news piece ("Bad News") despite its good intentions, unravels halfway through.
The Design:
The design of this magazine is so good already (check the numerous infographics or White Stripes video-worthy portraits of TV news anchors, page 59, for a taste) it wouldn't be at all surprising to see Good get a National Magazine Award nomination for design and maybe even steal one down the road, provided it can last that long.
The Extras:
Media mogul trading cards. Perfect. "I'll trade you a Bloomberg and Sumner Redstone for a Sulzberger, Jr. rookie. Not enough? I'll throw in a Sheikh Hamad, too, f*ck it."
Overall:
Good is good, not great. But there's a great upside — it's already striking that elusive fine line between hippie and progressive — for what is proving to be the most interesting magazine launch of 2006.

Good | "Media Issue" | March/April | 4.0 (out of 5)

[Dylan Stableford is mediabistro.com's managing editor, media news and editor of FishbowlNY. He can be reached at dylan AT mediabistro DOT com.]
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