Goodbye Observer Music Monthly mag

[Orang Utan]

You may be confused: the magazine is pre-wrapped, not the whole paper. Magazines, newsprint sections, all still have to be inserted by a shop monkey.

nah, it all comes in a bag now and has been for years.
are you saying that in brigadoon or wherever you're from, the entire paper comes in seperate sections?
most broadsheets come entirely enclosed in a bag, some tabloids have a seperate magazines bag, but even 20 years ago when i was a paper boy, you only ever had to put 2 sections together, never more.

 

[editor]

You may be confused: the magazine is pre-wrapped, not the whole paper. Magazines, newsprint sections, all still have to be inserted by a shop monkey.

It's not exactly a Dickensian hardship is it?

When you buy the paper they just hand you the bag o'supplements with your change.

 

[twistedAM]

It's not exactly a Dickensian hardship is it?

When you buy the paper they just hand you the bag o'supplements with your change.

if you have the space for it; most shops or kiosks wouldn't have the space for loads of piles of sups and mags

that'll be one less to cope with anyway

 

[Fictionist]

gotta say I thought OMM was terrible: bad writing about bad music.

It was another node on the 6music-Uncut-Word-Nick Hornby-Dadrock-50 quid man-150 greatest albums of 2009 axis of boresville. An index of everything predictable and dreary in music.

Agreed.

 

[BlackArab]

Both the Observer and The Guardian are shit for sport especially if you support a lower league team. The weekend supplements were just middle class toss mostly, although I used to find the Guardian Family section hilarious it was 'Modern Parents' come true, especially that dreadful woman who wrote about her kids and got found out.

For me it's Guardian and the local rag in the week and the NOTW on Sundays.

 

[danny la rouge]

nah, it all comes in a bag now and has been for years.
are you saying that in brigadoon or wherever you're from, the entire paper comes in seperate sections?
most broadsheets come entirely enclosed in a bag, some tabloids have a seperate magazines bag, but even 20 years ago when i was a paper boy, you only ever had to put 2 sections together, never more.

Most broadsheets come entirely in a bag? The Telegraph, say, has a clear cellophane packet round the entire paper, encasing the main paper, the newsprint sections and the magazine within? Not round these parts. Each section has to be inserted separately.

I'd seriously be interested to hear of parts of the country where the entire paper is already in a bag.

20 years ago it may have been only two sections needing inserted, but supplements have proliferated since then. The MoS, which didn't exist until the 80s, has three or four. All arriving at the paper shop separately, in different bundles, some on different days. All needing inserted. The Telegraph has more. Not pre-inserted by the publisher. The Times has the most. Some tabloids have only one, a TV mag.

No, it isn't Dickesnian squalor, but it is an irritation on a Saturday and Sunday morning, before opening time, for low paid shop monkeys.

Yes, they could keep them in separate piles behind the counter, and hand them to you with your change. But that'd need a large back-of-counter, for all the sections and magazines. No shop I know of does that. "Do you want the sports section? Travel? T2?"

 

[twistedAM]

I'd seriously be interested to hear of parts of the country where the entire paper is already in a bag.

My local Sainsburys in London has lots of them already bagged up (eg on Mondays when the Times has a free paperback) but then that's probably another example of one rule for a big chain and another for a small business.

 

[editor]

that'll be one less to cope with anyway

Like it's going to make any meaningful difference at all to the supposed 'plight' of shop workers.

 

[stupid dogbot]

gotta say I thought OMM was terrible: bad writing about bad music.

It was another node on the 6music-Uncut-Word-Nick Hornby-Dadrock-50 quid man-150 greatest albums of 2009 axis of boresville. An index of everything predictable and dreary in music.

Indeed.

Anything worth knowing about, you could guarantee knowing about 6 months before this lot heard of and wrote about it.

 

[editor]

Anything worth knowing about, you could guarantee knowing about 6 months before this lot heard of and wrote about it.

Perhaps - and this is just a wild stab in the dark here - the mag wasn't aimed at metropolitan music aficionados?

 

[danny la rouge]

Like it's going to make any meaningful difference at all to the supposed 'plight' of shop workers.

You're the one who introduced "Dickensian hardship" and "plight"; I was just having a moan, and I'm sure many people up and down the country groan with me at the thought of weekend newspaper inserts.

 

[stupid dogbot]

Perhaps - and this is just a wild stab in the dark here - the mag wasn't aimed at metropolitan music aficionados?

Maybe. Doesn't make it any less tired old shite that was usually far behind the rest of the world's music press - whether "for afficionados" or otherwise, though.

 

[starfish2000]

Good Riddance

There was the occasional good article but Paul Morleys endless dribble always upset me, he's good at writing about the Northwest music scenes, but anything else and he runs away with himself.

They always gave awful coverage to rock music. The only time they did it was if they could get a superior cartoon perspective, so we had articles on Motley Crue reunion tour and an article on Satanic Norweigan metallers killing each other. So considering how whats left of the music industry is financed by R & B and Classic Rock, they kinda shot themselves in their own metropolitan foot.

A missed oppertunity Im afraid.

 

[editor]

You're the one who introduced "Dickensian hardship" and "plight"; I was just having a moan, and I'm sure many people up and down the country groan with me at the thought of weekend newspaper inserts.

I don't think many people - readers and newsagents alike - are particularly bothered either way and I fancy your bizarre nationwide weekly 'groan' is more akin to a whisper from a few grumpy individuals.

It's hardly a hardship to pick up a few inserts and hand them over to a customer with their change (in fact, in many shops, it's the customer who does all the picking up, but let's not let that get in the way of your grumbling).

 

[danny la rouge]

I don't think many people - readers and newsagents alike - are particularly bothered either way and I fancy your bizarre nationwide weekly 'groan' is more akin to a whisper from a few grumpy individuals.

It's hardly a hardship to pick up a few inserts and hand them over to a customer with their change (in fact, in many shops, it's the customer who does all the picking up, but let's not let that get in the way of your grumbling).

The customer puts in the inserts? In many shops?

You don't care about people inserting the sections on a Sunday morning, fine. That's up to you. I'm having a grumble, though. And may do a bit more later.

 

[editor]

The customer puts in the inserts? In many shops?

Yep. You'll often find the papers on the shelves and the inserts are on the floor/counter.

 

[danny la rouge]

Yep. You'll often find the papers on the shelves and the inserts are on the floor/counter.

Sounds like an excellent scheme. Although I doubt very much it's all the inserts. Still, I approve heartily.

 

[hammerntongues]

I have just text my daughter , she does the papers at our local co-op every Sat n Sun she used to moan like crazy about having to insert the suppliments , she had to get in at 7am before the shop opened at 8 just to get the papers ready . I have asked her if any came pre- packed , even say the Daily Mail with its plastic wrap needs to be put inside the paper itself i`m sure.

ps. back on subject , I`ll miss the music mag , even bad music articles are better than none IMO ,

 

[Gerry1time]

I'm having a grumble, though. And may do a bit more later.

It's the internet mate, fill yer boots!

 

[danny la rouge]

It's the internet mate, fill yer boots!

That's the way I see it, anyway.

 

[porno thieving gypsy]

I'll miss it, for all its faillings I'd usually listen to one album I wouldn't have as a result of reading it. I noticed the last issue was much thinner than it has been before.

With the Sports bit going and the TV guide gone I'm going to have to find an alternative Sunday read.

 

[William of Walworth]

I`ll miss the music mag , even bad music articles are better than none IMO

I'm with hammerntongues and the porno thieving man and the few other regretful ones on this. The OMM had it's faults and limitations alright but for me at least it always contained a few interesting things worth reading as well as annoyances (like many, I hated that Record Doctor feature, that Ben Elton one most recently was particularly wankish )

Mainstream subject matter for sure, but I remember a fair few fascinating articles, eg one on the Mamas and Papas a while back .... the thing was never meant to be cutting edge or anything.

None too pleased that the Sport is going either. It had declined same as OMM had of late, but still usually contained at least one good substantial feature, and always had good photography.

The Womens mag was consistently a pile of shite throughout its life though, and heaven knows I tried but ... argggghhh!!!!

I'm afraid when I saw that Food would be the only one to survive I went FFS why that one???!!!!

In fact I'm not at all sure I'm going to be able to cope with the new format Observer at all any more but I can't cope with the Independent on Sunday, and if you think the politics, middleclassness, lifestyleism and consumerism of the Obs or Indie are bad, then the Telegraph and Times shouldn't be touched with any leftie's bargepole on any of those 4 grounds x ten! ....

 

[trashpony]

Thank god it's taking Observer Women with it is all I can say. *shudder*

 

[William of Walworth]

The reasons why that one was so excrutiatingly bad are far too many to list aren't they?

 

[QueenOfGoths]

Thank god it's taking Observer Women with it is all I can say. *shudder*

Same here - I used to read that and feel inadequate I'll miss the music monthly though. never read the sport monthly. enjoy the food monthly.

 

[trashpony]

Same here - I used to read that and feel inadequate I'll miss the music monthly though. never read the sport monthly. enjoy the food monthly.

that's just great isn't it - a magazine from a sort of vaguely left of centre paper which makes their readers feel shit

And no WoW - can't think of a single redeeming feature of OWM

I like food monthly too - I have never ever cooked a single recipe from any food magazine but I like reading them and looking at the pics

 

[rutabowa]

They'll be getting rid of the news section of the Observer soon as well I'll bet.

 

[Gingerman]

The Sunday Times Culture mag is'nt a bad read,not that its a reason to buy the ST, I usually try and scrounge it off some-one if I can.

 

[May Kasahara]

Same here - I used to read that and feel inadequate

I just used to read it and feel incensed that a national newspaper would willingly insult such a large percentage of its readership by aiming a monthly bolt of low-IQ dross at one particular gender. As if all the rest of the paper were for men but - don't worry ladies! - here's your little section where you can look at pictures of shoes and find out which body part you should learn to hate this month.

 

[QueenOfGoths]

I just used to read it and feel incensed that a national newspaper would willingly insult such a large percentage of its readership by aiming a monthly bolt of low-IQ dross at one particular gender. As if all the rest of the paper were for men but - don't worry ladies! - here's your little section where you can look at pictures of shoes and find out which body part you should learn to hate this month.

Yup! I think it was the fashion bits which used to annoy me most, I mean I am used, as I am sure we all are, at looking at photo shoots and thinking "Well, not really for me" but the implication with Observer Woman was that if you didn't like or want that certain handbag there was something wrong with you.

And similar with the articles, I really enjoy reading about people whose life experiences are different to mine but not when it is implied that somehow the life and associated choices I was reading about were 'better' or more valid than ones I had made!