Maclean's Magazine.. Any readers? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Jimellow · 05-21-2006, 09:06 PM

Do any of you read/subscribe to Maclean's Magazine?

I subscribe to The Economist, and enjoy the coverage/perspective it provides on world news, from a non-American perspective. I'm curious if any of you are familiar with Maclean's and could comment on it's quality. Also, does it cover enough material outside of Canada to make it worth subscribing to for someone that lives in America?

I really enjoy reading news magazines (US News & World Report and The Economist), especially those published in different countries, as it offers multiple perspectives, often on the same topic/issue. I also notice that when I read something initially I don't "get it" and having repeated exposure to the same issue, albeit from different sources, allows me to understand it more.

I also subscribe to The Walrus, and I'm curious if there are any similarities between the two magazines. I find The Walrus to be a very worthwhile read, despite it being a Canadian publication.

Thanks!

highthief · 05-22-2006, 04:32 AM

MacLean's is the Canadian version of Time, IMO. I don't subscribe but I do read it once it in a while. It's OK, certainly is good for Canadian news and events, but it is not comparable to the Economist, which is the best world news magazine going as far as I am concerned.

Daoust · 05-22-2006, 08:23 AM

I am a subscriber to Macleans Magazine and I think very highly of it. For a while I was subscribing to both Macleans and Time, but I cancelled my subscription to Time because I thought it was a poor quality mag. I didn't find its articles as interesting. I didn't find that it was even comparable in quality to Macleans. I found Macleans to be more informative, more political, and more engaging.

I was thinking of asking TFPers about an American version of Macleans, that I could subscribe to. I was thinking something that was Harpers-Light. You know. I have a hard time keeping my focus and I don't really like anything too overly politcal and or economical. Just something that gives me the facts, but in an interesting format.

SO is there anything that's between the Economist and Time that would be like an American Macleans that I could subscribe to?

maleficent · 05-22-2006, 09:09 AM

magazines to try would be Atlantic Monthly or UTNE also has some interesting articles or even the New Yorker

If you're l ooking for politics as the focus, then National Review, hands down wins my vote, followed closely by the spectator...

Since my butt isn't on an airplane every week anymore i read a lot less magazines... the economist is OK... I read it years ago, then started to get annoyed because they took themselves way too seriously.. Atlantic Monthly is well written (for the most part) and has timely articles for a monthly...

Time, Newsweak, and Useless News are all pretty much interchangeable - I worked for Newsweak for a number of years and US News was a client for even longer I wasn't impressed with the writing talent... the big difference between US news and the other two -- is US News puts their magazine to bed a day earlier than the other two - and will often miss some late breaking details in the stories...

There are some good magazines out there, some not so much... head to the magazine section of a big book store, and start perusing...

Jimellow · 05-22-2006, 10:07 AM

I subscribe to US News and enjoy reading it as a means of catching up with what's going on in America, and to some extent, the world. I don't read newspapers, and rarely read The Economist in its entirety (often skipping over the news relating to small and obscure countries, etc), so US News fills a nice niche in my magazine reading.

US News also does some worthwhile special reports/investigations regarding health care, colleges, employment, etc. I do enjoy the magazine, and find it is the best of the Newsweek and Time trio. Their format changed not too long ago, in that it now has a newspaper-ish layout, with the magazine opening with political news and notes, a two page Cross Country section, and then a two page The World section, that has short stories recounting news relevent to the area covered, set on a geographical map with the locations featured in the stories indicated. After that it has the following sections: Nation & World, Special Report, Money & Business, and Health and Medicine. I've subscribed for awhile now, and forget exactly when the formatting switch took place, but IMO the switch did improve the magazine, and resulted in me extending my subscription.

The Economist is a bit overwhelming, just because it covers so much. Initially I had some trouble with it, as I tend to take the approach that I have to read an entire magazine if I am going to read it at all, but I've now managed to skip articles and sections that don't interest me, and it's much more manageable now.

I like subscribing to both magazines because there is overlap in the stories and thus I have a better chance of remembering what I read in a day or so. I often find that when I am reading the Economist I am not taking it all in, and instead am just reading for the sake of reading. This often results in me not even remembering what I read about, and again, this brings into focus the benefit of reading multiple news magazines.

I am able to read fiction really well, remembering everything entirely, but when it comes to news, a lot of it goes into the brain, and then leaves shortly thereafter.

I'm interested in checking out a copy of Maclean's, but I am afraid they don't sell it around here. The magazine sections at the chain bookstores around here are lacking, and there is no chance of finding it at a smaller, privately owned, shop.

What percent of Maclean's would you say is Canada-specific news? Do you think there is enough "outside" material there to interest an American that is not overly familiar with Canadian politics?

I enjoy reading about world events, news, happenings, etc. But I am not as keen as reading about extremely localised foreign news. If it is an opinion piece on a Canadian event that somehow applies to the bigger picture, or world, then I'd certaily be interested in reading it, etc.

I try to read, and be informed, about news outside of America so that I don't become oblivious to the world outside of my country. I also like to get multiple views/opinions on the same issue so that I can avoid tunnelvision and an ignorant bias in discussions I have with others.

Daoust · 05-22-2006, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimellow

I'm interested in checking out a copy of Maclean's, but I am afraid they don't sell it around here. The magazine sections at the chain bookstores around here are lacking, and there is no chance of finding it at a smaller, privately owned, shop.

What percent of Maclean's would you say is Canada-specific news? Do you think there is enough "outside" material there to interest an American that is not overly familiar with Canadian politics?

I would say that 90% of the magazine is Canada specific, but there are lots of articles about what else is going on in the world and how it affects Canadians.

I would say it is a good magazine to read as an American if you are interested in how things work in Canada. I would say there isn't a lot of material in it that is written for an American audience.

It's a good read.

trickyy · 05-25-2006, 01:38 PM

i haven't read macleans but i will look for it

for news, i get harpers and foreign affairs (6 per year). i like both of them although i don't always have the time to read everything. my favorite part of harpers is the first third of each issue where they reprint interesting and unusual primary-source material. example

foreign affairs is great for world issues. the articles are longer (and each issue is pretty thick) but i'd say it's at a high school reading level. i like foreign affairs because it shows a broader range of views than other magazines. i've only been able to read parts of each issue, but i've learned quite a bit. you can check www.foreignaffairs.org or www.cfr.org to see examples of articles and topics.

if you're looking for something with shorter tidbits of news, maybe The Week would be good. i have no idea what it's like, but i keep getting junk mail and mag inserts from them. it's marketing itself as a "smarter" news magazine, so maybe it is.

Jimellow · 05-25-2006, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trickyy

i haven't read macleans but i will look for it

for news, i get harpers and foreign affairs (6 per year). i like both of them although i don't always have the time to read everything. my favorite part of harpers is the first third of each issue where they reprint interesting and unusual primary-source material. example

foreign affairs is great for world issues. the articles are longer (and each issue is pretty thick) but i'd say it's at a high school reading level. i like foreign affairs because it shows a broader range of views than other magazines. i've only been able to read parts of each issue, but i've learned quite a bit. you can check www.foreignaffairs.org or www.cfr.org to see examples of articles and topics.

if you're looking for something with shorter tidbits of news, maybe The Week would be good. i have no idea what it's like, but i keep getting junk mail and mag inserts from them. it's marketing itself as a "smarter" news magazine, so maybe it is.

Good info, thanks.

The Week is a nice magazine for very brief shorts about the news. It's a thin magazine, and is consciously not too wordy. I am pretty sure US News & World Report stole their "Cross Country" and "The World" sections from The Week, as they did it first, and better. For those not familiar, the sections basically are set on a geographic map with indicators and area-specific stories being placed accordingly.

I enjoy The Economist, but it would be nice if it would arrive a day or so sooner. The publish date is April 20-26th, and I only received my copy today, on the 25th. I don't follow news online, or watch it on television, so the stories aren't dated for me. It's just a minor annoyance that I am not able to start reading it earlier in the week.

Lastly, regarding the magazines you suggested.. Where is Harpers based? And is their country of publication relevent to the news and types of news covered? Or is it pretty general/worldly?

trickyy · 05-26-2006, 08:30 PM

it was a little misleading to call harpers a news magazine...it's more commentary/essay/feature/short story than news reporting. it's printed in new york and has an american focus, but also covers other areas of the world in feature stories. the feature writers could be living anywhere. however, you probably won't get the sort of "out of the bubble" perspective that you would get from a non-American publication.

for a good international perspective, i catch the BBC World Service on the radio when i can. a local station plays World News at 5 GMT. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/

unfortunately i can't think of a magazine that provides something roughly equivalent.

Jimellow · 05-27-2006, 05:57 PM

Trickyy, thanks for the info regarding both magazines. The other day I ordered subscriptions for both Harpers and Foreign Affairs.

My parents were going to the bookstore earlier tonight and I asked them to pick up a copy of each for me, so I could read each awhile.. My dad picked up Harper's, but concluded that Foreign Affairs was too boring, and that he wouldn't even buy it for his worst enemy.

I read the article regarding Saddam's reign/fall online, and really enjoyed it. I didn't find it boring at all, but instead very enlightening.

Haven't read Harpers yet, but will start to later tonight.

snowy · 05-27-2006, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trickyy

for a good international perspective, i catch the BBC World Service on the radio when i can. a local station plays World News at 5 GMT. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/

That is the one thing I miss about commuting to work at 3am--being able to listen to the World Service in the morning. It's a great news source.

trickyy · 05-27-2006, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimellow

Trickyy, thanks for the info regarding both magazines. The other day I ordered subscriptions for both Harpers and Foreign Affairs.

My parents were going to the bookstore earlier tonight and I asked them to pick up a copy of each for me, so I could read each awhile.. My dad picked up Harper's, but concluded that Foreign Affairs was too boring, and that he wouldn't even buy it for his worst enemy.

.

ha ha, Foreign Affairs is definitely "dry" compared to most magazines. it's probably more of a periodical or journal...one or two B&W pictures per 200 pages of essays. but i like it because i usually don't hear the ideas anywhere else. it's definitely a good way to learn about current situations in the world. i've also improved my understanding of international history, as case studies can really only examine the events of the past.

i hope you like Harpers, i should have mentioned that it's fairly critical of the current administration at times. but i think it's possible to learn about things in light of differing opinions. i used to get Forbes too (a freebie subscription) which provided a pro-business perspective on issues...nice to have a good balance.

Jimellow · 05-28-2006, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trickyy

ha ha, Foreign Affairs is definitely "dry" compared to most magazines. it's probably more of a periodical or journal...one or two B&W pictures per 200 pages of essays. but i like it because i usually don't hear the ideas anywhere else. it's definitely a good way to learn about current situations in the world. i've also improved my understanding of international history, as case studies can really only examine the events of the past.

i hope you like Harpers, i should have mentioned that it's fairly critical of the current administration at times. but i think it's possible to learn about things in light of differing opinions. i used to get Forbes too (a freebie subscription) which provided a pro-business perspective on issues...nice to have a good balance.

Regarding Harper's.. I read the opening article and was curious if it is a strongly liberal magazine, or just one that is critical of the current government, regardless of whether that government be republican or democratic?

If it is strongly liberal-biased, I'm curious if there is a similiar magazine (same type) but with a heavy conservative bias? I like to read/be exposed to opinions and articles from both sides of contemporary issues, so that I don't suffer from tunnel vision and unjust bias.

I've only read that initial article just now, and I enjoyed it. It was very refreshing and touched on an issue I was thinking about myself recently - what we as citizens can and can't get away with saying regarding our government/leader.

Looking forward to reading the rest.. Seems like a very intelligent and well written periodical.

keyshawn · 05-29-2006, 04:18 PM

Jimmellow,

'Reason' could possibly be a possible solution if you want something from a libertarian perspective. As mentioned by mal, 'National Review' is a conservative news magazine (weekly, iirc) and might provide what you're looking for as well.

I try to get a chance at the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, National Geographic, Foreign Policy (bi-monthly, it's more of a magazine and less 'scholarly' than Foreign Affairs is, but is definitely worth reading), and a few others (although I don't read them cover to cover, I just scan them and look for more interesting articles, and it's hard to keep up with them). One of the things I love about the college library is that I can read tons of magazines and journals which is included with my tuition

I recently bought 'the walrus' at the newsstand a few weeks ago, I enjoyed it quite a bit. "The Week" is also a good brief run down of everything that has happened in the week, although they seem to walk the line between providing too many graphs and pictures and fluff; and actual content (They're on a junior high reading level, like Time/Newsweek/etc).

catcha back on the flipside,
will.

trickyy · 06-01-2006, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimellow

Regarding Harper's.. I read the opening article and was curious if it is a strongly liberal magazine, or just one that is critical of the current government, regardless of whether that government be republican or democratic?

i guess it's probably safe to call them left of center, but i've never read any Clinton-era issues. it would be interesting too see how the magazine changes if a democrat (ever) becomes president. but on the whole, i've read many interesting articles...even when i disagree it makes me think.

as i said, i used to get forbes for another viewpoint, but the national review is probably a better magazine. the atlantic and the new yorker are also very good, but neither are particularly conservative.

Jimellow · 06-29-2006, 09:49 AM

My first issue of Foreign Affairs arrived in the mail earlier this week. It's great, very enlightening regarding parts of the world I previously knew very little.

I also received my second issue of Harper's, but haven't read it yet..

Earlier today I also added subscriptions to Foreign Policy and Atlantic Monthly, so ideally I am able to expand my knowledge and exposure here, but more importantly, in less familiar parts of the world.

trickyy · 07-24-2006, 06:50 PM

hope your subscriptions are going well. you're definitely going to be well-informed on the issues of the day. do you have enough time to read everything? that's still a problem that i encounter.

anyway, i'm posting because i have to renew FA and i just found a pretty good deal:
klik
EDIT: first i thought i could get it for 9.50, but i guess 14.50 is the best deal
the $10 rebate is for the next purchase, but DCSUB5 will save you $5 right away

Spiker · 07-27-2006, 12:11 PM

Long time Maclean's subscriber. Have seen the magazine go through many, many changes. I like the fact that they have changed to publish late in the week, arriving just in time for the weekend when I have more time to kick back with a coffee and enjoy!

05-21-2006, 09:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jimellow Junkie	Maclean's Magazine.. Any readers? Do any of you read/subscribe to Maclean's Magazine? I subscribe to The Economist, and enjoy the coverage/perspective it provides on world news, from a non-American perspective. I'm curious if any of you are familiar with Maclean's and could comment on it's quality. Also, does it cover enough material outside of Canada to make it worth subscribing to for someone that lives in America? I really enjoy reading news magazines (US News & World Report and The Economist), especially those published in different countries, as it offers multiple perspectives, often on the same topic/issue. I also notice that when I read something initially I don't "get it" and having repeated exposure to the same issue, albeit from different sources, allows me to understand it more. I also subscribe to The Walrus, and I'm curious if there are any similarities between the two magazines. I find The Walrus to be a very worthwhile read, despite it being a Canadian publication. Thanks! __________________ Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

05-22-2006, 04:32 AM	#2 (permalink)
highthief Junkie Location: Ontario, Canada	MacLean's is the Canadian version of Time, IMO. I don't subscribe but I do read it once it in a while. It's OK, certainly is good for Canadian news and events, but it is not comparable to the Economist, which is the best world news magazine going as far as I am concerned. __________________ Si vis pacem parabellum.

05-22-2006, 08:23 AM	#3 (permalink)
Daoust "I'm sorry. What was the question?" Location: Paradise Regained	I am a subscriber to Macleans Magazine and I think very highly of it. For a while I was subscribing to both Macleans and Time, but I cancelled my subscription to Time because I thought it was a poor quality mag. I didn't find its articles as interesting. I didn't find that it was even comparable in quality to Macleans. I found Macleans to be more informative, more political, and more engaging. I was thinking of asking TFPers about an American version of Macleans, that I could subscribe to. I was thinking something that was Harpers-Light. You know. I have a hard time keeping my focus and I don't really like anything too overly politcal and or economical. Just something that gives me the facts, but in an interesting format. SO is there anything that's between the Economist and Time that would be like an American Macleans that I could subscribe to? __________________ I have faith in a few things - divinity and grace But even when I'm on my knees I know the devil preys

05-22-2006, 09:09 AM	#4 (permalink)
maleficent Junkie Moderator Emeritus Location: Chicago	magazines to try would be Atlantic Monthly or UTNE also has some interesting articles or even the New Yorker If you're l ooking for politics as the focus, then National Review, hands down wins my vote, followed closely by the spectator... Since my butt isn't on an airplane every week anymore i read a lot less magazines... the economist is OK... I read it years ago, then started to get annoyed because they took themselves way too seriously.. Atlantic Monthly is well written (for the most part) and has timely articles for a monthly... Time, Newsweak, and Useless News are all pretty much interchangeable - I worked for Newsweak for a number of years and US News was a client for even longer I wasn't impressed with the writing talent... the big difference between US news and the other two -- is US News puts their magazine to bed a day earlier than the other two - and will often miss some late breaking details in the stories... There are some good magazines out there, some not so much... head to the magazine section of a big book store, and start perusing... __________________ Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.

05-22-2006, 10:07 AM	#5 (permalink)
Jimellow Junkie	I subscribe to US News and enjoy reading it as a means of catching up with what's going on in America, and to some extent, the world. I don't read newspapers, and rarely read The Economist in its entirety (often skipping over the news relating to small and obscure countries, etc), so US News fills a nice niche in my magazine reading. US News also does some worthwhile special reports/investigations regarding health care, colleges, employment, etc. I do enjoy the magazine, and find it is the best of the Newsweek and Time trio. Their format changed not too long ago, in that it now has a newspaper-ish layout, with the magazine opening with political news and notes, a two page Cross Country section, and then a two page The World section, that has short stories recounting news relevent to the area covered, set on a geographical map with the locations featured in the stories indicated. After that it has the following sections: Nation & World, Special Report, Money & Business, and Health and Medicine. I've subscribed for awhile now, and forget exactly when the formatting switch took place, but IMO the switch did improve the magazine, and resulted in me extending my subscription. The Economist is a bit overwhelming, just because it covers so much. Initially I had some trouble with it, as I tend to take the approach that I have to read an entire magazine if I am going to read it at all, but I've now managed to skip articles and sections that don't interest me, and it's much more manageable now. I like subscribing to both magazines because there is overlap in the stories and thus I have a better chance of remembering what I read in a day or so. I often find that when I am reading the Economist I am not taking it all in, and instead am just reading for the sake of reading. This often results in me not even remembering what I read about, and again, this brings into focus the benefit of reading multiple news magazines. I am able to read fiction really well, remembering everything entirely, but when it comes to news, a lot of it goes into the brain, and then leaves shortly thereafter. I'm interested in checking out a copy of Maclean's, but I am afraid they don't sell it around here. The magazine sections at the chain bookstores around here are lacking, and there is no chance of finding it at a smaller, privately owned, shop. What percent of Maclean's would you say is Canada-specific news? Do you think there is enough "outside" material there to interest an American that is not overly familiar with Canadian politics? I enjoy reading about world events, news, happenings, etc. But I am not as keen as reading about extremely localised foreign news. If it is an opinion piece on a Canadian event that somehow applies to the bigger picture, or world, then I'd certaily be interested in reading it, etc. I try to read, and be informed, about news outside of America so that I don't become oblivious to the world outside of my country. I also like to get multiple views/opinions on the same issue so that I can avoid tunnelvision and an ignorant bias in discussions I have with others. __________________ Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

05-25-2006, 01:38 PM	#7 (permalink)
trickyy ►	i haven't read macleans but i will look for it for news, i get harpers and foreign affairs (6 per year). i like both of them although i don't always have the time to read everything. my favorite part of harpers is the first third of each issue where they reprint interesting and unusual primary-source material. example foreign affairs is great for world issues. the articles are longer (and each issue is pretty thick) but i'd say it's at a high school reading level. i like foreign affairs because it shows a broader range of views than other magazines. i've only been able to read parts of each issue, but i've learned quite a bit. you can check www.foreignaffairs.org or www.cfr.org to see examples of articles and topics. if you're looking for something with shorter tidbits of news, maybe The Week would be good. i have no idea what it's like, but i keep getting junk mail and mag inserts from them. it's marketing itself as a "smarter" news magazine, so maybe it is.

05-26-2006, 08:30 PM	#9 (permalink)
trickyy ►	it was a little misleading to call harpers a news magazine...it's more commentary/essay/feature/short story than news reporting. it's printed in new york and has an american focus, but also covers other areas of the world in feature stories. the feature writers could be living anywhere. however, you probably won't get the sort of "out of the bubble" perspective that you would get from a non-American publication. for a good international perspective, i catch the BBC World Service on the radio when i can. a local station plays World News at 5 GMT. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ unfortunately i can't think of a magazine that provides something roughly equivalent. Last edited by trickyy; 05-26-2006 at 08:32 PM.. Reason: spelin

05-27-2006, 05:57 PM	#10 (permalink)
Jimellow Junkie	Trickyy, thanks for the info regarding both magazines. The other day I ordered subscriptions for both Harpers and Foreign Affairs. My parents were going to the bookstore earlier tonight and I asked them to pick up a copy of each for me, so I could read each awhile.. My dad picked up Harper's, but concluded that Foreign Affairs was too boring, and that he wouldn't even buy it for his worst enemy. I read the article regarding Saddam's reign/fall online, and really enjoyed it. I didn't find it boring at all, but instead very enlightening. Haven't read Harpers yet, but will start to later tonight. __________________ Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

05-29-2006, 04:18 PM	#14 (permalink)
keyshawn Psycho	Jimmellow, 'Reason' could possibly be a possible solution if you want something from a libertarian perspective. As mentioned by mal, 'National Review' is a conservative news magazine (weekly, iirc) and might provide what you're looking for as well. I try to get a chance at the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, National Geographic, Foreign Policy (bi-monthly, it's more of a magazine and less 'scholarly' than Foreign Affairs is, but is definitely worth reading), and a few others (although I don't read them cover to cover, I just scan them and look for more interesting articles, and it's hard to keep up with them). One of the things I love about the college library is that I can read tons of magazines and journals which is included with my tuition I recently bought 'the walrus' at the newsstand a few weeks ago, I enjoyed it quite a bit. "The Week" is also a good brief run down of everything that has happened in the week, although they seem to walk the line between providing too many graphs and pictures and fluff; and actual content (They're on a junior high reading level, like Time/Newsweek/etc). catcha back on the flipside, will. __________________ currently reading: currently playing :

06-29-2006, 09:49 AM	#16 (permalink)
Jimellow Junkie	My first issue of Foreign Affairs arrived in the mail earlier this week. It's great, very enlightening regarding parts of the world I previously knew very little. I also received my second issue of Harper's, but haven't read it yet.. Earlier today I also added subscriptions to Foreign Policy and Atlantic Monthly, so ideally I am able to expand my knowledge and exposure here, but more importantly, in less familiar parts of the world. __________________ Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

07-24-2006, 06:50 PM	#17 (permalink)
trickyy ►	hope your subscriptions are going well. you're definitely going to be well-informed on the issues of the day. do you have enough time to read everything? that's still a problem that i encounter. anyway, i'm posting because i have to renew FA and i just found a pretty good deal: klik EDIT: first i thought i could get it for 9.50, but i guess 14.50 is the best deal the $10 rebate is for the next purchase, but DCSUB5 will save you $5 right away Last edited by trickyy; 07-24-2006 at 07:15 PM..

07-27-2006, 12:11 PM	#18 (permalink)
Spiker Upright	Long time Maclean's subscriber. Have seen the magazine go through many, many changes. I like the fact that they have changed to publish late in the week, arriving just in time for the weekend when I have more time to kick back with a coffee and enjoy!