H.G. Watson

Correction: 20 years later. Long day, and I'm stuck forever in 2015.

It strikes me often, as I dig through this research, that when it came to cuts, products aimed at young women, that were often honest about real issues teens were facing, were considered expendable.

And here were are again, almost 10 years later.

But between 2004-2009, almost every teen magazine was folded or was left with a ghostly online presence. The only two to survive, until yesterday, were Teen Vogue and Seventeen.

The 2000s arrive. Advertisers do move some money to web, of course. But the audience was still there. Many of the teen mags were already pioneering online content. It should have been an easier transition than it was for other traditional media!

Teen Vogue is often duly credited for its excellent political content. But they didn't pioneer it. Teen mags were always covering issues relevant to adolescents, and breaking barriers — featuring LGTBQ teens with little fanfare, or doing real reporting. (All from Teen People circa 1999 or so)

In the 90s, teen media just EXPLODED. Millenials — then called the echo boom or Gen Y — were a huge cohort with lots of expendable income. Advertisers were eager to get at them. So publishers rebranded to be more like Sassy (YM, Seventeen) or launched new titles (Elle Girl, CosmoGirl, Teen People).

Some thoughts on Teen Vogue, from someone currently writing a book about teen mags.

When publishers make "budget cuts" young women and LGTBQ folks often are the first to suffer

🧵

How many times must I sit through a Jays away game where the home team is having Bark in the Park?

Why do Atkins and Shapiro HATE Toronto dogs?

Look who they are preventing from enjoying hot dogs!!!

ICE Agents Invade a Manhattan Little League Field Youman Wilder has coached local kids for twenty-one years—including four who have gone pro. When masked agents tried to interrogate his players, he told them, “You don’t have more rights than they do....

When ICE agents questioned a group of 11- to 14-year-olds who’d just finished batting practice, their coach, Youman Wilder, stepped in. “I’m willing to die to make sure these kids can get home,” he recounted afterward.

Was just thinking how hard it feels now to even follow the news — no actual content shows up in many of my feeds

We just translated a wave of our ICE coverage into Spanish. No paywall, no email signup necessary. From leaks about Palantir's work with ICE to ICE's new facial recognition app, we think there is a massive public interest in this info. Read why and support us here: www.404media.co/were-publish...

a young boy in a blue shirt is talking into a microphone while a woman looks on . ALT: a young boy in a blue shirt is talking into a microphone while a woman looks on .

Trying to write my silly little horror screenplay while the world is....*frantic hand motion*

I hate that em dashes have become synonymous with ChatGPT use. That’s a millennial writer thing!

Also, to clarify, since not everyone realizes I'm a multi-genre queen — this is fiction

Been a minute since I've been published somewhere, which is why it's nice to say I have a short story out today! (Content warning: blood, body image and ED content, many pesky raccoons.) www.godscrueljokelit.com/h-g-watson-3...

Opinion | Public art languishing inside the Eglinton Crosstown LRT says more about our priorities than you might think — Toronto Star Is a city something to be experienced or only something to pass through between home and work?

Got to see this piece in its early stages in my advanced feature writing workshop last semester. It's a great look at a group impacted by delays with the Eglinton LRT apple.news/AIfl-gcEiSme...

Here’s why I’ve been pretty quiet on here the last two years. (Submitted 🥰)

Bomb explodes near California reproductive health facility, killing one, mayor says A bomb exploded near a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs, California, resulting in the death of one person, Mayor Ron DeHarte told Reuters on Saturday.

gawd www.reuters.com/world/us/bom...

NB: knowing I missed the golden age of magazine journalism because I just flipped through a 2004 edition of Teen People that was OVER 200 PAGES LONG

I’ve been in New York for the last week reading ALL THE TEEN MAGS for the book. Home soon, and will need to wrangle all this somehow. (Doing a better job chronicling all this on my insta — @hgwatsonwrites too)

Do I know any book authors/academics who have an ingenious method for organizing piles of research so they can find what they are after? Would love to read or pick your brain on it.

It’s weird to live in a time when basic principles like cruelty is wrong, cheating is empty & the idea that curiosity, generosity, originality, the satisfaction of earned accomplishments & loving intimacy are the center of a good life feel like countercultural concepts

Walks List Explore the Walks List for Jane’s Walk Toronto Festival! Discover a variety of free, community-led walking tours that showcase unique stories, neighborhoods, and perspectives across the city. Find a w...

It's Jane's Walk weekend in Toronto, if you're casting about for something to do. Not a boring city.

www.janeswalkfestivalto.com/walks

Started a new project with @dreabells.bsky.social today. Learning a lot about shipwrecks and underwater photos.

More TK 🙊

Inside of my brain now that I can watch sports without seeing political ads

update to this thread: verified GoFundMes are linked here: vanfilemergency.my.canva.site

Need Carney to up the weirdness factor to compete with these two though. Where’s the alt zodiacmemes account he runs?

Thought I was ready to finish grad school, but just sobbed my way through writing my thesis acknowledgements 🥺

Don’t worry everyone, I bought books!

Who Is the Wisconsin Judge Arrested in Immigration Dispute?

Judge Hannah Dugan, the Wisconsin judge who was arrested on Friday morning on charges of obstructing immigration enforcement, spent most of her legal career working on behalf of low-income people and marginalized groups. Here's what to know.