At the tail end of 2021, I decided I would subscribe to The New Yorker magazine. This might surprise some, considering that I’m British. There are many other British and European publications that I can subscribe to. Some of them I already have subscribed to previously. There’s also no loss of content to absorb online, so some people wonder why I would even bother subscribing to a magazine. There are a number of reasons I decided to take up a subscription to The New Yorker specifically, and I’ve decided to lay out my entire thought process right here. Consider this both a review and an explanation of why I subscribed.
Quality Journalism
The New Yorker is known for its high-quality journalism, featuring in-depth reporting on a variety of topics. It covers politics, culture, science, and technology. The writers and editors at this publication are top-tier.
Each article plunges you into a subject that you may have known nothing about, nor had any prior interest in. But somehow it makes you feel like it’s the most intriguing topic to ever enter your consciousness. This is valuable to a writer because it’s important to have a broad understanding of everything in life. Sometimes you need to get outside of the typical interests that hold your attention and learn a new subject or perspective.
Thoughtful commentary
The magazine offers insightful and thought-provoking commentary on a wide range of issues, from politics to art, music, and fashion. Admittedly, I tend to avoid political commentaries because there are some publications that I feel separate people by their views, rather than offering an unbiased take on the given subject.
But with The New Yorker, I feel more open to reading some of their political commentaries because the writers tend to stick to the facts of the situation, allowing the reader to think for themselves rather than trying to force them down a certain path of conclusion. This may not be the case for every single piece that’s been published in the history of the magazine, but I’m more inclined to read about a sensitive topic in this magazine than others.
Where The New Yorker really shines is with its art, culture, and literary commentary. These are the sections of the magazine I’m drawn to the most, as I enjoy learning about new art and media. It’s also healthy to get another perspective on a book or movie that doesn’t always align with your own.
Award-winning fiction
The New Yorker is somewhat of a literary journal, which means that it also features a number of short stories from writers all around the globe. Novels are my main passion when it comes to reading, but I have been training myself to fit more short stories into my rotation. A well-done short story is often a masterclass on writing. The New Yorker features a short story in each issue, making it easy to get a weekly dose of short storytelling.
Art, design, and photography
Every issue of The New Yorker features incredible artwork and quirky comic-style illustrations. There’s also high-quality photography. Sometimes it takes seeing these things on paper for you to appreciate their quality.
This is a critical time when we must preserve the art of journalism
With the emergence of A.I. technology such as ChatGPT, there is the threat that writers and journalists will become obsolete. While I doubt all journalists will disappear overnight, this technology speeds up the process of producing content significantly, and in a capitalist world, speed is everything. This will inevitably lead to the loss of some jobs in markets that are already struggling to retain readers thanks to the rapid pace of social media.
With this in mind, I feel it’s my responsibility to support publications that are preserving the art of journalism. I was around to observe game journalism get shaken up by Web 2.0. A time when at-home game enthusiasts were empowered by new blogging and media tools that allowed them to compete for the same readership as IGN, Gamespot, and other publications. It wasn’t a bad thing. It allowed readers to find new perspectives on games and media that were previously unheard of.
But, this A.I. revolution has the potential to dim the beauty of human expression, in favor of speed-of-information. That’s why it’s more important than ever to support those willing to put pen-to-paper (or word-to-screen) and take readers on an exploration through facts, logic, and eloquent analysis. It’s time to support your choice of written media, whether they’re corporately owned or independent.
Summary
I look forward to my issue of The New Yorker every week, as I know there will be something new and unthinkable to explore in each issue. My subscription also gives me access to their online archive, which dates all the way back to 1925. Allowing me to revisit major events in history. Each issue of The New Yorker also includes crossword puzzles.
When subscribing, I was sent a cool New Yorker tote bag. This was a nice gift considering that we’re charged for bags when shopping in the UK. All I have to do is carry along my tote bag when shopping and I won’t be left carrying groceries in my hand on the way back to the car.
The only downer about subscribing to The New Yorker was perhaps their exploitative tactics when trying to get me to renew. I subscribed annually, paying my subscription in a lump sum. But as I was in a position where I had to watch my spending, I decided to turn off auto-renewal on my Condé Nast (parent company) account, only to find that it was turned back on, causing me to be charged again at the end of my subscription. If it wasn’t for this one gripe, my experience with The New Yorker and Condé Nast would be perfect.
If you’ve thought about subscribing to a sophisticated magazine, then The New Yorker is one of the most influential magazines in the world. I highly recommend it. Just be sure to keep track of your subscription dates and triple-check that your account isn’t set to auto-renewal unless, of course, you want to renew it.
