Where My Mind has Wandered

New American City

If you like This American Life and have an interest in architecture, economic development, and community planning I recommend you pick up a copy of New American City. I came across the quarterly magazine's fourth issue when I was doing research for a project on behalf of The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association. I was immediately drawn in by the subject matter and quality of writing.

The magazine is produced by a not-for-profit of the same name. The organization recently held a symposium in New York which is billed as the first in a series. I was surprised when a quick search did not produce much coverage of the event, it looked like a good lineup and was moderated by NBC News correspondent Tom Brokaw.

Good Magazine

As a design professional I have always had a weakness for magazines. When I worked on 20 Park Avenue South in Manhattan I bought at least a dozen magazines a month at the magazine store down the street. That is over and above the magazines I got for free from the agency's traffic department. Language was no barrier, I bought many magazines I could not read to explore alternative publication designs. It may be a hereditary bug; my father's first job out of Pratt was working as a designer at Vogue.

I've cut back on my habit significantly, but on my way back from Houston on Friday I picked up a copy of Good Magazine. I have a weakness for new magazines on the newsstand and this was just the third issue (I still have the first issue of Egg in my office, complete in the advertiser's media kit.)

I recommend this issue for several reasons.

• If you like information design there are some good spreads in the Transparency section.
• The Media Mogul All-Stars trading cards
• The interview with Ira Glass, complete with photo portrait (All these years and this is the first time I've seen his picture)
• An insider's view of the success behind HBO titled Not TV
• The bold attempt at naming the 51 Best Magazines Ever

As a magazine fan I enjoyed reading down the list looking for my own favorites, some of which are represented, some of which are not. What I found more entertaing was the bravado of a magazine publishing a "best magazines ever" article in their third edition out the door when almost half of new magazines don't last a year.