Media for Women doesn't help me fix my AC

This headline from the Guardian popped out at me this morning: "Tomorrow's media needs to be wired, inspired and for women".

What exactly does that mean?

It appears that women's lit defines novels for women as dealing with feelings, love, romance, body image, hormones, fight against aging, and internal angst. If the media defines 'women's media' that way, I will be forced to join the good old boys club. I haven't read a 'women's magazine in years. They are so bland and are saying the same things they said 50 years ago. Some may actually use vagina and penis these days as opposed to skirting the issue as in the 50s and even 60s, but it is the same old same old! Does Good Housekeeping discuss water sports? No. Not even the water skiing kind of water sports. Do they actually tell a woman what HAPPENS to her during menopause or simply make a joke about the hot flashes and mood swings that accompany it? Same with adolescence. Do we really know what is happening to make our bodies morph into strange beings?

Do I really care whether my tablescape is inviting or I'm up to date on the latest recipes or foodie indulgence? I like beauty and I love to eat, but when I read a magazine I'd really like to come away with information that makes me feel wiser, educated, better able to make a reasoned and reasonable decision.

Do I want to read a comparison of products? Yes. Do I want to know what the latest products are? Not really, unless they are so unusual, much improved, new technology, and actually are what they say they are. I'm so sick of hype and exaggeration and manipulation that I don't pay much attention to any advertising other than to ask, "What are they not telling me? What is the truth? Can I even find the truth in their advertisement?"

What, for heaven sakes is the point of 'Zoom, zoom.' Does it tell me about the quality of the car? The facts I need to know to make a major investment? Would I purchase stock in their company with so little information? Can you imagine stock market advertisements "Invest in utilities -- Zoom, zoom." So Mazda supports racing, embraces speed. But can they stop? Do the brakes work? That would have been good to know when buying a Toyota.

What would I enjoy in women's media, if there must be a separation, what are the best articles I've read lately? It wouldn't be found in any of the seven sisters -- or is it six or five? How many of those women's magazines are left? Right now I would like to read about how to fix my central air/furnace. The company who installed it has decided that it is lack of maintenance that caused the problem. We have had service men coming out to work on this almost every two to three months -- how much maintenance does it need?

I want to know how to deal with a company that sells you a lemon and doesn't want to make it right.

I want to know how to get satisfaction and good service and how to get past their CYA and lip service and get someone who actually knows how to fix the product.

I'd also like to trust what I read somewhere! I'm so tired of spin and hype and half truths or total lies. I want to know the ingredients in the make up I smear on my face and what animals or plants or ecosystem was harmed in the making of the product.

I'd like to understand where my recycled items go, how they are used, and who benefits or not. Where is my garbage dumped? Is my trash sold to another country?

I want to know what no one is talking about. I want to know the story behind the story. I want to know why decisions are made, not just the decision and what they were wearing the day they announced their decision.

I want to know the truth about birds and wind turbines.

I want to know why the words "I'm sorry" have been added to the 'do not say' list for fear they will mean an admission of responsibility and lead to a lawsuit.

After talking with the department head of the air and heat company servicing my machine, I felt like I needed to take a shower and get the filth off. He spouted party line without any ounce of regret for leaving us with a $5000 investment in their product which does not work! Why do I always think there is a human behind the voice, someone with a heart, with a conscience, and who is driven by something other than profit. Why do I constantly forget that the company cares less about my satisfaction and more about my pocketbook. I go into a business to produce a product I'm proud of -- I forget that too many companies do NOT! They go into business to make money. There is a reason that old Biblical verse about 'love of money is the root of all evil' continues to be true today. Some things never change. Why do I forget that?

I want to know what happened to customer service?

I want my women's media to help me deal with these sleazy corporate heartless types and help me find the right words to get the kind of customer service I can live with. Perhaps all I really want is a lawyer right now and a victory over the company who was my friend until they took my money and have been an adversary ever since.

The Universe is Listening!

Be careful what you wish for! That's one of the many cliches/admonitions/old wives tales whatever you want to call it that I was raised with. Today I saw the universe come to bear on such a statement and it was amazing!

A friend emailed me lamenting her need for more income. Nothing unusual about that. Making money from writing has gotten more challenging and some of our favorite editors are looking for work and some of our favorite magazines have folded.

She wondered if maybe she could find a market for book reviews, in addition to the ones for which she already writes. Publishers Weekly maybe or Kirkus? And then I received a Google Alert that I had set for Magazine Publishing News. It said that Publishers and Editors has been axed (the magazine not the actual people). "The magazine, which has covered journalism and the media for more than a century, said on its Web site that industry support has been overwhelming in the wake of the news that E&P is to be shuttered."

And then I saw a discussion at Internet Writing Workshop that Kirkus had also been axed.

I sat in shock. Both of those magazines have been around forever. They were popular. Respected. Icons of trusted reporting and reviewing. The world is crashing around our ears!

I emailed the friend and told her to scratch Kirkus off her list. We were lamenting about review markets and were glad we worked for one that seemed to be fairly solid.

A few minutes later another email. This time from the editor at this solid review market saying that she needs help! Apparently with the sudden demise of Kirkus, several strings or should I say review contracts were left dangling and we would be picking up the slack.

I emailed my friend and she emailed me and we did this cyber happy dance as emails collided. We now have more books to review than we could imagine and some of them at higher pay because of the urgency involved. There's sadness at the loss of an old and venerable market and magazine. There's sadness over the loss of respected journalistic award winning publications.

But in the immediate future, I see a chance to actually pay off Christmas! I see work and a chance to feel productive and needed and all of that because I can read and write reasonable book reviews. Will it pay the mortgage? Probably not. But it will certainly close the gap between my budget and reality.

And I have come to realize that there really is a silver lining in those storm clouds and it is darkest before the dawn. I didn't want a magazine to fold just so I could write more reviews. But it makes me wonder if everything is truly connected in this universe. Needs are met in the strangest ways. And maybe, just maybe if all of these pieces fit together. Then maybe I'm wishing too small.