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Are you guilty of reading magazines while waiting on the checkout line? What used to be a common cash register occurrence is, nowadays, growing more rare. Many people are spending those idle few minutes on their mobiles, sending texts or checking Facebook and Twitter. In other words they’ve become “mobile blind,” blind to anything around them expect for their phones. This means they are not being tempted by last-minute purchases — such as candy or magazines, reports Bloomberg.

The problem of  “mobile blinders is a huge factor,” said Marshal Cohen, an analyst at NPD Group to the website.  “Companies have to rethink the in-store experience.”

Because of this some companies are looking into other ways to attracted shoppers to their products.  Hearst Corp. and the Coca-Cola Co., for example, have come up unique solutions to keep their retail customers.

Hearst, which sells 15 percent of its U.S. magazines at retailers, has added cardboard displays in places other than the checkout line.  Consulting firm Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide says it has worked with Coca-Cola to add soft drink coolers to locations like the supermarket deli.

“Magazines are an impulse purchase, so we have more than one opportunity to capture the consumer’s attention,” said John Loughlin, general manager of Hearst’s magazine unit, which includes titles such as Cosmopolitan, Seventeen and Esquire.

But impulse buys have gone down due to mobile use by shoppers Loughlin told Bloomberg. Single-copy sales of U.S. consumer magazines fell 8.2 percent in the second half of 2012 from the year-earlier period, according to the industry group Alliance for Audited Media.

Magazines and sodas are the only victims of mobile blindness. The gum category too “has been challenged” and declined 5.5. percent last year, Hershey Co. Chief Executive Officer John Bilbrey said during a conference call in January.

Some companies are setting up more temporary cardboard displays around stores, sometimes offering unexpected combinations of products in order to attract shoppers. For example, shoppers browsing the aisles of 1,500 Kroger Co. supermarkets may find a display offering a $3 discount on a six-pack of Diet Coke and an issue of Cosmopolitan.

According to Bloomberg, similar promotions will appear in CVS Caremark Corp. pharmacies and Target stores later this year. Hearst has teamed up with Coke and L’Oreal SA for combined promotions that will appear in 20 stores. This is an increase  from four joint promotions in 2012, Loughlin said.

Combined promotions work. Last October, when Hearst created a display with coupons offering the Food Network magazine along with bottles of wine in 200 Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. locations, magazine sales in those stores rose 50 percent.

Magazines from Hearst will still be available at checkout aisle as well.

And in an interesting twist: some retailers and consumer-goods makers may also use smartphones to boost sales. Hearst has partnered with Realtime Media and Prizelogic to offer consumers in-store prizes. Consumers may be able to text “Cosmo” to win prizes like a Prada bag or cash — and get a coupon to purchase a magazine on the spot.  Such offers, Loughlin tells the website, are “a way of using the mobile device to our advantage.”

But not all companies are making changes. In fact, some really don’t buy the mobile blinders data. Mark Peterson, vice president of newsstand sales at Meredith Corp., publisher of Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, and Eating Well, told Bloomberg he’s seen anecdotal information about mobile blinders, though no empirical data. Instead, Peterson thinks other trends are hurting sales of checkout items as well, including higher taxes, commodity prices, and gasoline costs.

Source: WENN

Actress Jada Pinkett-Smith has been utilizing social media to speak out against what she believes to be social injustices, unfair practices and society’s questionable behavior a lot lately. Recently, she tackled the subjects of blended families and the media’s bullying of teen stars. Now, in a statement posted to her Facebook page, the 41-year-old mother of two is expressing that in order for mainstream magazines to consider putting Black women on their covers, publications geared towards Black women should also consider putting White women on theirs. Her statement reads:

“Will there ever be a day in which women will be able to see each other beyond race, class, and culture? 

There is a question I want to ask today. I’m asking this question in the spirit of thinking outside of the box in order to open doors to new possibilities. These possibilities may be realistic or unrealistic. I also want to make it clear that there is no finger pointing here. I pose this question with the hope that it opens a discussion about how we can build a community for women based upon us all taking a deeper interest in one another. An interest where skin color, culture, and social class does not create barriers in sharing the commonality of being… women.”

Source: Facebook

“With love and respect to all parties involved, my question is this…if we ask our white sisters, who tend to be the guardians of the covers of mainstream magazines, to consider women of color to grace these covers, should we not offer the same consideration to white women to grace our covers? Should women extend their power to other women simply because they are women? To my women of color, I am clear we must have something of our own, but is it possible to share in the spirit in which we ask our white sisters to share with us? I don’t know the answer and would love to hear your thoughts.”

Would you say that Jada has a point?

In honor of Women’s History Month this March, we’re counting down monumental magazine cover firsts for African American women.

Though it was just a sketch, in January 1965, Donyale Luna became the first black woman to cover Harper’s Bazaar.

Source: WENN

After accidentally spilling the beans that she was to be on the cover of an upcoming issue of Vogue magazine, I can’t help but wonder if that’s the mag Rihanna put on blast on Twitter yesterday.

The pop singer is apparently on set for an unknown spread and it sounds like somebody might be effing her new pixie cut all the way up from the sounds of this tweet:

Well, somebody needed to say it.

In the generic “magazine’s” defense, not many black women in Hollywood have their own black hair so I’m willing to cut the glossy’s a little slack. But half the time the so-called stylists can’t even get the wigs and weaves these black celebs are rocking right and that’s just unacceptable. The last time Rihanna graced the cover of Vogue, they essentially slapped a blonde wig on her head and labeled her a black Marilyn Monroe, and no one can forget how Elle didn’t even try when it came to the wig they threw on Gabourey Sidibe back in 2010. Let’s hope these #Magazines take note of Rih Rih’s tweet and get it together.

Can you think of any white mag’s that royally jacked up a black woman’s hair on the cover?

More on Madame Noire!

• From Dropping It Like It’s Hot To Oscars: 10 Celebrities Who Got Their Video Vixen On Before Making It Big (Fellas Too!)
• Name It & Claim It: The Importance of Speaking Your Dreams and Desires Into Existence
• It’s Women Like Kiana Howell And Makeeba Graham Who Make It Hard For All Of Us To Get Through Security At The Airport
• Ask A Very Smart Brotha: Does Makeup Really Matter To Men?
• When It Comes To The Magic Stick, Does Size Really Matter?
• Magazine Cover Curse: 9 Couples Who Shared Their Love With Us And Ended Up Yesterday’s News
• Wait, How Did You Get That Role? 14 Of The Crappiest Casting Calls in Black Films and TV

If Beyoncé and Jay-Z have taught us anything, it’s that it’s best to keep your relationship on the low-low. The details of it, the pride and happiness surrounding it–the less the public knows and sees, the better. But as always, some people just need to learn these things the hard way. So many celebrities jump on and in magazines displaying their love and affection for each other for the world to see (and to get publicity). Sadly, this is often the kiss of death for celebrity relationships. While they may not last, these images, somewhat comical at this point, last forever–especially now that we have the Internet. Shall we?

Evelyn Lozada and Chad Johnson

What a mess. The tattoo loving, reality-TV promoting couple jumped on the cover of Urban Ink and were picked as a “Hot Couple of 2012″ by EBONY for their love, which was sparked by following one another on Twitter. Hell, we even know that these two “lovebirds” were slated to appear on a reality show together, the infamous and now defunct, “Ev and Ocho.” But when an argument over condoms turned ugly and violent a few months ago, and ended with Evelyn rocking stitches on her head, divorce papers were filed and they were no longer one of the “Hot” couples of 2012.

lazygirls.info

Hey loves! Hope you’ve been having a GREAT weekend! I think the celebs are having a great weekend because they’ve been as quiet as church mice this weekend.  But you know I found a lil sumthin’ sumthin’ for you guys!

Read the rest of this entry »

bossip.com

Ahhh, the video chick.  We hate them, we love them and then we hate them again.  I know its not the most respectable job in the music industry but if the women can manage to parlay that into something better for themselves, I say more power to them! Let’s check out a few of the ladies who’ve made it past the drop it like its hot stage…

l to r: photos by James Anthony Photo, Elliot & Erick

Quick. Which of these looks is “high-fashion”? Which is “urban”?

The answer to the second question is none of them, according to Mychael Knight, the designer who created all of them.

“I will correct someone very quickly when they say I am an ‘urban designer’ or a ‘hip-hop designer,” he said. “There is nothing wrong with [designing hip-hop-inspired sportswear], but it’s just not what I do.”

As for the answer to the first question, Knight, who is black, cites an “invisible barrier” that reserves “high-fashion” anointing for a privileged circle of designers—very few of which are black. “Tracy Reese and Rachel Roy - they’ve penetrated that, but I don’t ever really see any placement of them in fashion magazines”—an indication that Reese and Roy are not readily on the mind of prominent editors and stylists.

Perhaps observant of this trend, some black designers early in their careers choose to use white models, particularly for lookbooks, which are prepared for press and buyers, and on their websites where customers seeking high-fashion looks (assumed to be white) can immediately imagine themselves in their pieces.  Though Knight regularly casts models of color for both his runway shows and his lookbooks, he can guess why some African-American designers skip over black models altogether.

“When you open up a fashion magazine—a Vogue or an Elle,” Knight points out, “you never see black models. You think, as a black designer, ‘well, if I need my brand [or] my product to get noticed I need to use the white models.’”  It’s like high school, Knight explains. “People feel like they to need fit in.”

Model booker Carole White gave New York Magazine the racial breakdown as it applies to models.  “Asian girls do really well. You can’t have too many, but they do really well, and it’s quite easy to book them. For Black girls, it is more difficult.” White is further quoted as saying, “[Black models] have to be utterly amazing. There will be less work. It takes much longer to establish them… because clients don’t take the risk on black girls so much.” For this reason, White admits agencies are “very, very picky” when it comes to signing black models. “Maybe you’re not as picky with the white girls, because there’s more work for them.”

With African-American models facing a shrunken market, getting passed over by black designers only further threatens their livelihood. It also perpetuates old school notions of what, and who, represents luxury versus the aesthetic of the street.

Source: emuleday.com

If you are wearing pearls and have been known to clutch them often because you think that discussions of sex should only happen in the bedroom, the following post is not for you. But if you are down for an open and frank discussion about sexuality, by all means, continue reading below.

From Jezebel:

“In 2001, Glamour magazine assigned entertainment journalist Margeaux Rawson to interview the four Queens of Comedy — Adele Givens, Miss Laura Hayes, Mo’Nique and Sommore — about sex. The specific assignment was to uncover the “10 Commandments of Sex,” as decried by the Queens. Armed with all the buffalo wings and bottles of Veuve Clicquot her expense account could manage, the writer met the quartet of comediennes in a Los Angeles hotel suite. Alas, it appears as if the champagne and chicken should have been left in New York: Glamour deemed every inch of the transcript too “blue” for its perfume-scented pages. Lowbrow, on the other hand, considered the interview just lewd enough…”

Lewd is not quite the term I would use. This exchange about the dos and dont’s of all things sex with the self-proclaimed “Queens of Comedy” is balls-to-the-wall out there. I mean, from jump Mo’Nique sets it off with stuff that we can’t probably print in this post without making some of you blush. But lets just say the conversation involves lots of discussion about fellatio (both giving and receiving), junk size (and I quote: “If your package is too small, my favorite position is with another muthaf****), the avoidance of butt-play and S&M.

This conversation sounds familiar to me. I can remember vividly those days when a bunch of girlfriends and I would sit around – whether it be the bar or on somebody’s couch – and dish about what we liked, didn’t like so much, wanted to try, were NEVER gonna do (unless we were married) and all the other graphic details about our sexual conquests. You heard many of the words printed in the Jezzie article plus many more not even thought of.

Likewise, we were all different sexually – there was the one girlfriend that did and tried everything under the sun and always had a juicy story to share. There was the other girlfriend, who would blush and shake her head in embarrassment over our stories–that was until later in the conversation when she would drop some freaky bombshell that had the rest of our mouths wide open. And finally, there was the eavesdropping dude (perhaps the older brother or boyfriend of one of the girlfriends), who sat close enough to hear all of our sordid details without actually being involved in the conversation but would, from time to time, chime in to say something like: “I always knew girls were nastier than boys.”  These frank and colorful dialogues were the essence of our sister girl circles.  We felt free and safe to not only exhale but to inhale and exhale some more.

By Makula Dunbar

Aliya S. King is and has been a major player in the publishing industry for years. Known in the magazine world as someone who “isn’t new to this, but true to this;” as a freelance journalist, King has managed to land positions and bylines in publications including VIBE, The Source, Essence, US Weekly, Upscale and others. As co-author of two memoirs, Faith Evans’ Keep the Faith and Frank Lucas’ Original Gangster— in accordance with book and magazine writing genres, she’s written it all.

In February King released Diamond Life, the sequel to her urban fiction novel debut Platinum. Read on to learn what she had to say about the business of freelance journalism, transitioning to book publishing and the logistics in-between.

The Never-ending Hustle

You’re always pretty busy. What do your days consist of now that you’re just coming off of a book release?

I’ve been doing a lot of publicity for the book. I’m working on an investigative story for VIBE right now. That’s been taking up a lot of my time. I’m also trying to figure out what the next novel is going to be, which is kind of nerve-racking. I’ve always thought, ‘What if this book is the last one.’ I’m always kind of scared. I can’t speak for other writers or authors, but I never take anything for granted. I’m always hustling like I just started.

Do you mean in terms of coming up with new material or the way things play out in book publishing?

In terms of the publishing industry. I don’t know for sure that I’ll get another deal. I always have my eye on what’s next. I feel like I have to work as hard now in 2012 as I did in 1998 when I got into this game.

I don’t think people understand how much of a hustle freelance journalism is. Can you compare it to something or elaborate on that?

It’s like juggling 10 different fruits in the air —and not of the same kind. There are all these different editors and magazines that have preferences and deadlines. It’s challenging to keep your eye on each one, because if you drop one you can damage your career.

How did you get into writing?

In 1998 I was teaching and I was reading an article about the Columbia Publishing Course. It’s a course for people who want to move from any career to publishing. I signed up for it and got accepted. You learn everything there is to know about publishing and from there they try to help you get a job. After I finished that I got a job at Billboard magazine. From there I went to The Source. In 2000 I left The Source and started freelancing— and have been ever since. I’ve taken little jobs here and there in social media and marketing, but for the most part I’ve been freelancing ever since.

On the Business of Freelance Journalism

For people wanting to move into freelance, what’s a misconception about the business that you understand now?

The biggest misconception is how you have to nurture the relationships with editors. Other than the quality of your work you have to be in their faces. I don’t always like to go out to the album release parties and different functions, but I have to. Sometimes I’ve gotten assignments because I made it my business to get up, go into the city and see somebody. It’s been a long time, but I’ve gotten to the point where I can e-mail an editor and say ‘Hey it’s Aliya, I have a great story for you.’ You want to be on their radar and know you’re going to get that e-mail back right away.