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William Randolph Hearst: The Variation Of Cosmopolitan Magazine

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Cosmopolitan magazine, as it is today, is an international woman’s magazine involving topics on sex, relationships, beauty, fashion and health. The variation of Cosmopolitan (Cosmo) we have in today’s society is rather sexually explicit in many of its articles and covers. This was not always the case. Cosmopolitan was founded by Schlicht & Field in 1886. The magazine was originally created to be a “family magazine” . Cosmopolitan introduced articles on family and home life. In 1888, Cosmo gained a new editor in E. D. Walker. He would add new elements to the magazine. These included serial fiction, book reviews and color illustrations.

Moving into 1905, Cosmopolitan Magazine was bought by William Randolph Hearst. This would bring …show more content…

Other than the driving forces (topics) of Cosmo, are serious topics. This includes politics, careers, college, and parenting. On observation the website seemed to contain more depth than its paper counterpart. Cosmo magazine seeming to focus on vapid and somewhat vanity driven topics.

Looking past the glitzy covers and off-putting focus on physicality, are more serious issues. Cosmo has delved in political, legal problems, and harmful impressions. Cosmo started endorsing political candidates with certain matching views in its magazine. Stances that Cosmo takes include, “— equal pay, pro-choice, pro-birth control coverage, anti-restrictive voter-ID laws…gun control.” Pro-life candidates are completely out of the question with Amy Odell stating, “…because that’s not in our readers’ best interest,”

Legality issues have popped up when it came to a trademark issue between Cosmopolitan Magazine and the Cosmopolitan Hotel. This case occurred back in 2008. This case was eventually settled out in court with the Cosmopolitan Hotel being renamed the Cosmopolitan of Las …show more content…

Being one of the top branded women’s magazines gives them an opening to larger audiences. The fact they are easily able to pull in celebrities makes can broaden its audience even further. Even if a woman hasn’t even heard of Cosmo on its own personally, if they hear a celebrity they adore is a part of it they are more likely to read it. By reading the magazine the female becomes more influenced by it. Younger women and teenagers have a possibility of being pulled in due to wanting to be like the people they idolize. We such a big following on its own though, this magazine has been shaping the way generations of women think and act. Some of this which is not all good. Cosmo puts high emphasis on appearance and pleasing men. This magazine convinces women that’s how it is. It would make it hard for these women to act more natural and not feel like they have to constantly be on alert. It gives an image to women in our society you have to be physically perfect to get and keep a man. That statement in itself just isn’t true. This message can take a toll and make young and older women think they are not good enough. On top of the fact that some of the advice given is just ridicoulous. I read through some articles and laughed a little. Some of the so called “tips” are just so unrealistic. It partially made me uncomfortable to read them. The “positions” certainly didn’t sound sexy

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