Outline

1. The subject I am reviwing is Entertainment Weekly. The source of my information is my own personal experience.

2. My thesis statement will state how Entertainment Weekly, for enjoyment purposes, is a well rounded magazine.

3. The criteria are:

Organization: this magazine has a well developed Table of Content, it is very similar in structure every week, and has clearly labeled page numbers.

Content: TV, movie, music and book reviews every week. Plus it has additional articles and week to week editiorials.

Advertisments: While it is no fun to have any ads at all, realistically all magaiznes need them. And EW at least has ads that appeal to their audience. Usually they are car ads or graphic art for known proucts, like Gain (now with Febreeze).

Relevance: The movies, TV shows, music and books are all brand new releases. The articles they focus on are for new rising stars or stars in new movies. They have Stephen King writing an editorial, and spoliers for popular shows every week.

4. Counter arguements: this magazine is a fluff piece, there is no hard hitting articles about wars or the economy. But in times like we have, it is nice to read through a well designed magazine purely for enjoyment. While they do only offer one opinion on movies, they show other reviewers opinions in a graph showing other scores a movie recieved. The magazine does focus on more popular TV shows, but that is because thats what people are watching. They may majorly review the movies people are lining up to see, but they do offer reviews for indie films as well.

Template B

The four relevant criteria to base a good magazine of this kind is organization, content, advertisements, and relevance.

The organization of a magazine is important to enjoyment. It must have a good table of content with clearly marked page numbers. It drives me insane to read a magazine where there are multiple pages right next to each other with no page numbers. I hate having to count to find the page I want. The organization from article to article must also be set up so there is a comfortable flow to how the magazine is read.

The content is also important. For EW, the content is superficial and fun. But every week they must come up with more than just reviews. While the reviews are important, the articles about specific TV shows or movie stars are emmensly interesting to read. It is a great treat when you expect to get one thing from a magazine and get a lot extra. Different opinions, that are well written, are necesary for the magazine of this type to be good.

The advertisements have to relate to the audience. intrusive, multiple page ads are just annoying. In a magazine like EW, editorial type ads wouldn't fit. A magazine like EW should be more about content than selling you stuff.

And finally, the magazine must be relevant. It must know more about the culture than the reader. It isn't interesting to read what you already know, but it also can't only tell you what you don't. There has to be a mix between well known information everyone knows, and off beat info that is intriguing to learn from this magazine.

Readers

The specific audience for my review is the readers of Entertainment Weekly (EW). These readers are looking for a magazine that gives different viewpoints about TV shows, movies, books, and even video games. They are interested in hearing about the entertainment world, from a realatively non-gossip view. One thing that is almost entirely absent from Entertainment Weekly is celebrity gossip, which is not a value held by readers of EW. The readers are more interested in plot lones and the acting abilities of actors, than who is dating who. While the last page does feature a "bullseye," where the writers humorously place culturally significant events from the week around a bullseye, this is not for gossip but more for a quick overview of what happened recently in the entertainment industry. The magazine is focused more on superficial topics than political ones, so a political viewpoint one way or the other doesn't much matter while reading EW. The political views don't effect the enjoyment level. They value a well written opinion above all else.

The friends of a reader of EW is probably interested in the same things. I know my best friends read EW and we discuss it every week. It would hurt a reader of EW to have no idea what happened in our culture in the week. Some allusions made in articles wouldn't make sense to someone who doesn't know what happened. So to keep up with EW, readers have to keep up with American culture.

They consider learning more about TV shows, movies and music to be the best benefits. There are pages of movie reviews, a whole section dedicated to music and tons of TV show reviews. Every week there is even reviews for books. There is a weekly section dedicated to spoliers of popular TV shows. My favorite page is the one where they tell you where you can purchase something worn in a TV show or music video. The movie reviews are in depth with out giving away too much. They base their reviews on an A+ to F- scale, giving the reader a better read than a four star system. They even include an overview of the grades given by mulitple reviewers so you can see an average score given to new movies. With so many different opinions given, a reader is better able to know what to expect when they pay ten dollars to go see a movie. This magazine is more of a fluff magazine. They are no life changing articles, so reading EW doesn't change who you are. The most it can effect is your decisions on what TV show to tune into or what movie to pay to go see.

To Entertain or Not?

I plan on writing my review on the magazine Entertainment Weekly.

Thesis Paragraph: Commentary

In our world today, we can connect with other people in far off countries in mere seconds, and all it takes is a click of a button. A text or an email can get sent and be received in the blink of an eye. And now that it is easier to stay connected, people are using that to their advantage. Online social networking is becoming more and more prevalent in our society. Sites like match.com and eharmony claim to have connected millions of happy couples. College students, like the students at UCF, are continually using the website Facebook. And while it has many positive attributes, it appears to have negative effects as well. Here at UCF, Facebbok is used as a way to meet friends, to keep friends, and to bring groups together. In theory, Facebook is a great tool, but have we begun to overuse it in ways that are unhealthy for our social lives?

Outline

1. Opening paragraph:
A. Introduction
B. Thesis
So what? In this opening paragraph, I am going to introduce the reader to the issue of Facebook use on college campus. Is it a friend or foe to everyday relationships? It does have it's positives, but it also has its drawbacks. I will put a thesis in my opening thoughts addressing the question as to whether or not our use now of Facebook is a problem.

2. Amount of use Facebook gets by people my age.
A. Who do students talk to on Facebook?
B. How much is said through Facebook that should be done in person?
C. How long are students online, and how often?
So what? I am going to (hopefully) find statistics on use of Facebook. It is important to see how often students use Facebook. One negative of Facebook is the fact that people interact so much on the internet with their close friends, and sometimes more so. I need to address the issue of whether or not this has an effect on the relationships.

3. Effect Facebook has on everyday relationships.
A. How is Facebook being used?
a. Are people using it as a social networking site?
b. Or is it being misused?
B. It does have positives
a. It helps people connect with out of state or far off friends.
So what? I will pull in examples of how people use Facebook (i.e. Wedding announcements, or angry post) as well as staying connected. While it is a great place to find people, should it be used fior such important conversations as well?

4. UCF Students use
A. Clubs?
B. Advertising?
So what? Here I will find examples of clubs that are groups on Facebook. And i will discuss advertising and being a "fan" of a company on Facebook.

5. Facebook as an marketing tool
A. Opinions?
B. Specialized Ad campaigns to each individual user.
So what? Facebook has Ads all down ther sides of our walls. I am going to do research and see if any major corporations have ever discussed using Facebook specifically as a marketing tool. Does this trend bother users? Or do most people ignore the Ads either way.

6. Conclusion
So what? Here I will conclude my thoughts. While I like Facebook in theory, I feel that it is being misused.

Letter to Nicole

So how often do you get on Facebook? It is really common to be on Facebook on campus here. I see so many students messing around on Facebook in class or at the computer labs. I wonder if it is the same everywhere. My guess is that it is.

Students our age really like Facebook. I know you have an account; even I am in contact with you through Facebook. But doesn't it seem like our society is kind of overdoing it? So many companies want you to join them on Facebook. The radio station I listen to offers contests where they give away concert tickets to their "fans" on Facebook. What does that even mean, to be a fan on Facebook? I know how you become one, but what does it achieve? Do more people buy products if there are more fans of it on Facebook? That would make Facebook more than just a social networking site. That would also make it a marketing tool.

It also amazes me how detailed the advertisements are per each account user. My friend, Sadie, just got engaged. She posted a comment on her wall about how all the advertisements on her page are now for wedding diets, wedding dresses, or otherwise wedding related! It is really crazy how the world can now create advertisements around each individual person.

Speaking of Sadie, she announced her wedding date through Facebook. Her wedding date! And sadly enough, it seems a natural place to post an important date like that now. While she probably will still send out official save-the-dates, it is a good place to start letting everyone know. But we now use this site for more than just connecting with people we have lost touch with, one of the number one reasons people claim they use Facebook.

I know hear stories about people who were dumped through Facebook. A fellow student, Jessica, posted the other day “Jessica… is sad how her boyfriend doesn’t put her first anymore. She wanted to go to his house just to say hey, but he wouldn’t let her because he had friends over.” I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t seem like anyone else’s business but Jessica and her boyfriend’s. How can that help, telling the world you are unhappy with someone close to you? It goes well beyond discussing your problems with one or two friends, just to get a trusted opinion on the matter. I get it; sometimes you need to talk your thoughts over with a third party. But to openly tell the world: I’m pissed off at so-and-so, and here’s why. That seems like a recipe for disaster to me.

I don’t know. I see the great positives to Facebook. I know I’m in contact with people I wouldn’t be if not for Facebook. And I do appreciate it for that aspect. Clubs for UCF are started and kept up through Facebook. People can stay in contact easily without having to arrange rendezvous times around students messy schedules .But I still think we over use it here. I don’t think it should be used to stay in contact with those we see everyday, that we live with, that we are close to. I don’t think it breeds for healthy relationships. And I think there is too much temptation to tell the world what you think, when sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut.