Fairfax’s Good Weekend redesigns and axes Maggie Alderson
Fairfax Media is to launch a redesigned version of its Saturday magazine Good Weekend at the end of this month.
The new look title will include chef Neil Perry as a new food columnist, a new cover and new typography.
Good Weekend is inserted with the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Fairfax Magazines publisher, Lisa Hudson, said: “There are very few brands as strong as Good Weekend in the market and we are delighted to be relaunching the magazine with a fresh new look and feel.”
The magazine will also have a new tagline: “Essential Reading. Discerning Lives”.
Among the columnists not to survive the redesign is Maggie Alderson who said that she would be focusing more of her attention on blogging.
In a posting yesterday she said:
“I have been a journalist for thirty years, so I do know how these things work. Also I’ve known since I moved back to the UK to be near my ageing mother (she’s 88) that I was probably on borrowed time and I’m proud that I managed to get 600 of them out before the axe fell.”
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Booooo! Maggie Alderson is the first column i read in GW every week. That mag is slowly losing cred every year
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What on earth is a ”discerning life”? What a stupid, pretentious, meaningless line. If you can’t respect your readers enough to treat them as serious human beings rather than consumers on stilts (presumably defined by ‘discerning’ choices of car, home, reading material etc) you’re in real trouble.
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By dropping Maggie A, GW is going to see a backlash like GAP’s attempted change of brand did
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another maggie fan – don’t think i’ll bother subscribing in future, i can read most of the news online and they aren’t interested in giving us what we want…
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Misha, do you actually read the GW? It’s clearly target at metro Sydney/Melbourne audiences, in fact as I understand it, it is not generally distributed in the papers beyond these areas. They are clearly trying to distinguish themselves (with both readers and advertisers) from all the other free mags we get in newspapers and those that are more ‘discerning’ should read the GW rather than all the other mags in other papers. It might not be the ideal tagline, but at least they are putting some effort into lifting the style and content of the product – and no I don’t work for Fairfax
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Personally, as a Gen Y-er I find Maggie Alderson stuffy and old fashioned. It’s been a long time since I thought she contributed something to fashion journalism. I really hope Fairfax brings in some fresh blood. (can I suggest of of the chics from Oyster?)
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I hated Maggie’s column. Only for pretentious, wannabe mosman soccer mums.
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Anonymous always says it so much quicker 😉
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GW was one of the best reads of the week several years ago. Hope the re-vamp works. Otherwise GBGW… GOOD BYE GOOD WEEKEND
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I am a Gen-Yer and I love Maggie – she’s a light- hearted entertaining writer, who writes truths we can relate to. Perfect for the weekend.
Neil Perry isn’t exactly fresh blood.
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I’m a Maggie fan, but of the book sense Chick Lit. My interest didn’t quite translate to GW. So for me I think she should pump out some more books!
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No loss. Why not get rid of Stephanie Dowrick as well and give Mark Dapin two columns?
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I’m divided. While I like Maggie and her column in GW, which I sometimes read and at other times, couldn’t be bothered, the appointment of Neil Perry is a good move. By far one of the best chefs in this country and his food is incredibly good and approachable. I look forward to seeing the new look.
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I am a boofy bloke – Maggie Alderson was the only fashion thing I ever read.
And if they get rid of Stephanie Dowrick, I’ll stop buying the Herald.
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I heard ‘essential reading, discerning lives.’ beat ‘good weekend. because you’re better than regular people.’ by one vote.
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This may be slightly off the point, but The Herald just continues to slip into pointless irrelevance. It appears utterly incapable of moving past being utterly white, middle-class and middle-aged; and the inclusion of Perry as a columnist merely proves that, and that they are remotely incapable of a new idea (Perry was over-exposed 20 years ago!!!!). If reports are true and print news is fast dying, I can’t see how any of this will do one iota to attract the all-important under 35s to broadsheet newspapers. If Fairfax can’t see this and can’t react to it, it’s very hard to have the remotest sympathy for dying newspapers. Or, I’m guessing, the GW’s advertisers are aimed at boring, white, middle-class people, hence why they continue down this rather predictable and doomed route.
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…meant to say “aren’t remotely capable of a new idea”….
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I agree with Keith. GW, like SMH is a club newsletter for aunties and nannas who are white, middle-class, wannabe lefties (so long as they remain financially and geographically insulated from the policies they support). The French call these the “gauche caviar” set. The quality of content in GW is appalling. The column on ethical dilemmas is self indulgent onanism at its most blatant. The underlying attitude of the editorial approach is so predictable – smug and knowing at every turn. It’s the embodiment of why Fairfax will drop off the radar before this coming decade is out. No bi-centenary for you…..NEXT!
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… bloody hell, someone agrees with me?! Yes, I do love how the Mosman ferry’s a minute late and it’s page 3 news; someone gets stabbed in the south-west and it barely rates a mention. Get the pain over with and call it ‘The Mosman and Eastern Suburbs Herald’ and be done with it! As for GW’s journalism – it’s of the appalling, sycophantic Peter Overton kind. “So interviewee, I can’t be bothered to do any real research so why don’t you just tell me how great you are!”. The Oz Mag is infinitely better (although that wouldn’t be too difficult).
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Maggie’s column was getting very tired, and I agree she was often pretentious. She would cover the same topics again and again.
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Does anyone fall for that “discerning lives” BS ? Who’s that aimed at ? Readers who are too stupid to realise the extent of the patronising insult, or advertisers who need to be reassured about the target demographic ?
“GW” staff need to get out in the real world a bit more rather than the self-congratulatory atmosphere of catered meetings.
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Discerning lives? What the heck do you think you are doing. It sounds like Brideshead Revisited on valium. Get a grip GW, I’ve been loyal through thick and thin – and there have been many ‘thin’ periods of creative ideas in this mag. A weekend magazine, for me, is a joy – try and find your joy. Ditching Maggie – bad move.
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Seriously, I find GW boring. They could also have MUCH better Two of Us’s instead of the drivel they put out. Mark’s column great, Maggie’s hit and miss. But honestly, it can be better than it is…
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Maggie – you will be sorely missed.
@Rhiannon, why do people feel the need to put a marketing label such as Gen Y on themselves?
I’m early 30s so I suppose I’m a little older than so-called “Gen Yers” but I don’t have an issue with Maggie’s content ….it’s kinda simplistic to assume there’s an age issue in regard to liking content or not liking content.
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The GW is out of touch and has been getting ever more so this past year. I doubt a redesign and Iron Chef Neil Perry (when does he find the time?) will change things the way they need to. You’ve only got to look at how good the Guardian and Observer magazines are to see what is possible. Fairfax Fail.
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So happy Maggie’s gone! Her column was the most pointless, boring part of GW.
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SMH/The Age etc has been dying a slow death for years now. Cutting quality columnists is not going to help this. It’s a damn shame when things like this happen!
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Excellent! I am not a fan of Maggies column, it was so nanna – and not exactly fashion forward. I got so sick of seeing her in that same bloody dress every week!
More Danny Katz I say! The bets bit of the Herald.
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And where have all the Walkley-award winning stories gone? Several years ago, just about everything in Good Weekend was astoundingly good. It’s all been blanded out.
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Subscription to be cancelled shortly. bah humbug. Not interested if there’s no more Maggie. Pretentious wankers.
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