(Cult)u're Magazine
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| (Cult)u're Magazine | |
|---|---|
Cover of the September 2007 issue |
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| Editor in Chief | An Nguyen |
| Categories | Arts, Pop Culture |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| First issue | September 2007 |
| Country |  Canada |
| Language | English |
| Website | www.culturemagazine.ca |
(Cult)u're Magazine is a Canadian webzine that launched on September 1, 2007. It's primary content focus is on Artistic, Political, and Cultural issues. It's market appeal addresses post-secondary students and urban professionals who follow Television, Film, Theatre, Music, Food, Literature, and/or Political trends in a "cult-like" fashion. The magazine is organized along thematic lines, with all articles in a particular issue responding to a common prompt.
Contents |
[edit] Contributors
(Cult)u're Magazine features writing and art contributed on a completely volunteer basis. Writers tend to be devoted fans of a certain body of popular culture. Areas of focus in the magazine are diverse, ranging from discussion of blockbuster films to lesser-known graphic novels.
A unique facet of the magazine is its interest in outsider and fan writing. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and art for the magazine. Writers are also solicited through the use of social networking websites as well as arts & culture fairs.
[edit] Sections of Note
[edit] Pith and Substance News
Pith and Substance News (PSN) is a segment of (Cult)u're Magazine featuring satirical news stories parodying a wide range of topics and issues. This section is penned by an anonymous contributor writing under the pseudonym of Bryan Q. Denton, a play on Bill Pullman's newsman character from the film Newsies. This section perhaps most effectively compared to publications like The Onion, though in keeping with the thrust of (Cult)u're Magazine's focus, PSN tends to be about stories of cult or niche interest.
[edit] "In Transit" Survey
Each month, (Cult)u're poses a question to average Canadians (or international readers, for those who submit answers online) and relates the responses to recent scholarship on a given issue. In the inaugural issue, for example, the discussed topic was happiness, and Adrian White's 'world map of happiness' was the relevant scholarship.
[edit] Debate Room
Similar to the "In Transit" Survey, the Debate Room poses a question each month about a hot debate topic. (Cult)u're Magazine offers informed opinions on both sides of the given topic and asks readers to weigh in on the debate by casting a vote in an online poll. This interactive feature encourages readers to get involved and serves to forge a connection between (Cult)u're readers and writers, which is an important feature of a webzine over a traditional print publication.
[edit] Advertising Campaigns
Because (Cult)u're Magazine is a freely distributed on-line magazine, the editorial team has had to use no-cost, word-of-mouth advertising to attract readers to the site. New readers are especially important to the publication because of its interest in outsider writing, so two major campaigns were launched in order to attract readership from cult-like or fan communities.
[edit] Blog Blitz
The Blog Blitz is an advertising campaign wherein writers and editors from (Cult)u're seek out blog postings that talk about the same topics as are explored in the magazine. For instance, where there is an article on The X-Files, a writer would seek out blog entries about The X-Files and leave a comment engaging with the blogger and referring them to the (Cult)u're article. Uniquely, this campaign does not involve the use of a form message but instead genuinely interacts with the ideas of a potential reader, thus creating a bond across a fan community and illustrating to the reader that (Cult)u're articles are written by members of that same fan community.
[edit] Facebook Frenzy
Similar to the Blog Blitz, the Facebook Frenzy uses the popular social networking site Facebook to connect with potential readers. (Cult)u're writers join Facebook groups that are created around a given topic that is discussed in the magazine in order to post messages referring fans to the magazine article. For example, a fan group devoted to the TV show Corner Gas might receive a message referring readers to an article on television and Canadian identity. In this way, writers can target potential new readers from specific fan groups in a very precise manner.
