A ferner's perspective
Great response from Simon McGarr on the dullness of magazines over here. Definitely worth elevating from second-class comments section.
Here in Dublin, we get the UK editions of magazines, and have access to all the UK papers, as well as the Irish ones.
We could also buy the US editions if we wanted, but nobody would ever dream of doing so. It is hard to overstate the profoundly grey cloud of dull which suffices all the US publications, or to convey how even the same magazine will go from being a lively, humourous publication which could make you laugh, to a po-faced, joy denied lump of paper as soon as the editorial crosses the Atlantic.
Up until now, I always imagined that this reflected a weakness in American writing, but your log has suggested that it is more likely a failure of editing. It seems that the American editor has fallen victim to a sense of self-importance. If Journalists are to be serious and weighty persons of note, which clearly even the editors of the most ephemeral magazines seem to believe, then they must never be seen to be anything but serious minded.
Where European newsreaders are people who read the news, American TV News has Anchors. Even the difference in the choice of titles seems to reflect the wish to be seen as weighty. It is reminiscent of the Victorian ages Great Men, who would speak admiringly of a man with "Great Bottom", ie somebody who would never lose their head in a crises and could be relied upon to attend Royal Society lectures, rule India and always go to Sunday Service.
The narrowing of the language of discussion to an identikit collection of portentous boom voices, and their written equivalent the AP wire style fails to reflect the diversity of a culture. After WW1, certainty fell from favour as a writing style, to be replaced by the chaos and creativity of the Modernist era.
But a writing culture doesn't have to suffer an apocalypse like the first world war to suddenly lose relevance. It only has to stop offering people what they recognise as the world as they experience it. From what you've been saying American media are reaching that point at the moment. The attraction of Salon for me is that it seems to offer an outlet for the kinds of American stories I always knew must be there, but could never see reflected in a media which is meant to hold a mirror up to its readers or watchers lives.
S
*** From Dave, now:
Very interesting. Never thought of countries where you could get our version and the UK version of the same magazine (at least same title) side-by-side, and that ours would offer such pitiful reading. Makes me sad, but also hopeful that there is better writing out there, and greater possibilities, if the editors could let writers breath a bit.
6:00:36 AM 
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